Although oral contraceptives (OCPs) have been available for approximately 60 years and were consistently associated with a lower risk of subsequent ovarian and endometrial cancer in all studies, there are data on the time-dependent, long-term correlations between OCP use and breast, ovarian and and endometrial cancer are limited. This is partly due to the need for long-term follow-up to assess lifelong OCP-related cancer risk in women who started taking OCPs early in their reproductive years, as the risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers is highest later Life. However, new data from an observational study of 256,661 women has shown that OCPs can be effective in reducing a woman’s lifetime risk of developing endometrial and ovarian cancer for up to 30 to 35 years after OCP is discontinued.
The results of the Karlsson et al. Studies conducted showed a lower risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer in women who used OCPs at any time compared to women who never did. Compared to people who never used OCPs, the odds ratio (OR) for ovarian cancer in former users was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.65-0.81; P <0.001). When comparing “never users” with “former users” in an endometrial cancer risk analysis, the OP was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.62-0.75; P <0.001). Long-term contraceptive use (≥ 20 years) ”was associated with a much lower chance of ovarian disease [OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.48-0.75) and endometrial cancers [OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.28-0.45]”The study’s authors explained. In contrast to data from previous assessments of the association between OCP use and endometrial cancer, the results of this study suggest a longer empirical induction period specifically for endometrial cancer.
Reference
Karlsson T., Johansson T., Höglund J., Ek WE, Johansson Å. Time-dependent effects of oral contraceptive use on breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer. Cancer Res. Doi: 10.1158 / 0008-5472.CAN-20-2476