No Link Between Breast Cancer and Oral Contraceptives

A large, multicenter study has found that women who took oral contraceptives at some time in their lives are no more likely to develop breast cancer between the ages of 35 and 64 than other women the same age. The study appeared in the June 27, 2002, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers interviewed more than 9,200 women between 35 and 64 in various parts of the United States. About half had been diagnosed with breast cancer, while the other half had not. Interviewers asked both groups questions about their use of oral contraceptives and other hormones as well as other health-related questions. They found that women who had used any type of oral contraception did not have a greater risk of developing breast cancer than women who had not used oral contraception. Oral contraceptive use among women with a family history of breast cancer was not associated with a significantly increased breast cancer risk, nor was the initiation of oral contraceptive use at a young age.

About 89% of US women born since 1945 have used oral contraceptives, and large numbers of them are now reaching the ages of greatest breast cancer risk. "We conducted this study to resolve the long-standing concern that oral contraceptive use might be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer late in life. Our study provides scientific evidence that there is no such association,” said Robert Spirtas, Dr.P.H., chief of the contraception and reproductive health branch of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which sponsored the study.




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