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Contraceptive pill 'affects' cancer developmentDate: 13/09/2007 09:36:07
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New research from the University of Aberdeen has suggested that taking the contraceptive pill can significantly affect the chance of women developing cancer at a later date.
Effects, however, are reported to be both positive and negative, depending on how long a period the pill was taken for.
The studies show that the cancer risk is up to 12 per cent lower for those taking it for up to eight years, while women taking it for longer were 22 per cent more likely to develop cancer in later life.
Researchers surveyed 46,000 women with an average age of 29 in order to ascertain the long term effects of taking the pill, one of the most popular forms of contraception since its inception in the 1960s.
The risk levels calculated identified general cancer development and specific gynecological cancer risks, with the increased risks for long-term users coming in cervical and central nervous system cancer development.
The average duration of pill use among those surveyed was just under four years, so the lower risk for that broad group will be welcome news for many women who used the pill earlier in life while unsure of the effects that the new contraceptive would have.
Professor Hannaford, leading the research, said that the results showed that "in this UK cohort the contraceptive pill was not associated with an overall increased risk of any cancer, indeed it may produce an important net public health gain".
He acknowledged that the data mostly regarded pill usage in the early years of the drug's life, but added that "evidence from other studies suggests that currently available pills produce broadly similar effects".
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