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Birth control pills may increase breast cancer risk

I always wondered if birth control affected woman in any way. Women who recently used birth control pills containing high-dose estrogen and a few other formulations had an increased risk for breast cancer, whereas women using some other formulations did not, according to data published in //Cancer Research//, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Our results suggest that use of contemporary oral contraceptives [birth control pills] in the past year is associated with an increased breast cancer risk relative to never or former oral contraceptive use, and that this risk may vary by oral contraceptive formulation," said Elisabeth F. Beaber, PhD, MPH, a staff scientist in the Public Health Sciences Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. “Our results require confirmation and should be interpreted cautiously," added Beaber. "Breast cancer is rare among young women and there is numerous established health benefits associated with oral contraceptive use that must be considered. In addition, prior studies suggest that the increased risk associated with recent oral contraceptive use declines after stopping oral contraceptives. Unlike most previous studies that depended on women's self-report or recall, which may cause bias, Beaber and colleagues used electronic pharmacy records to gather detailed information on oral contraceptive use including drug name, dosage, and duration of medication. Beaber and colleagues found that recent oral contraceptive use increased breast cancer risk by 50 percent, compared with never or former use. All study participants were at Group Health Cooperative in the Seattle-Puget Sound area. Patients received a cancer diagnosis between 1990 and 2009.

1) American Association for Cancer Research. "Recent use of some birth control pills may increase breast cancer risk, study suggests." Science Daily. Science Daily, 1 August 2014 2) "Birth Control Pills - Types, Effectiveness, and Side Effects of Birth Control Pills." //WebMD//. WebMD, n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.

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