Fwd: Pill Use Increases Cancer Risk

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Study: Pill Use May Raise Cervical Cancer Risk

 

Fri Apr 4, 2003

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Women who take the birth control

pill could be increasing their risk of cervical

cancer, scientists warned on Friday.

 

A review of research by scientists from the

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in

Lyon, France and the London-based charity Cancer

Research UK shows that the longer women use the pill

the greater their chances of developing the disease.

 

Women who used the pill five years or less had a 10

percent increased risk.

 

Up to nine years pushed it up to 60 percent and a

decade or more doubled the risk compared to women who

have never taken the Pill.

 

" This study shows that the use of hormonal

contraceptives for long periods of time may increase

the risk of cervical cancer, " said Dr. Amy Berrington,

of Cancer Research UK's unit at the Radcliffe

Infirmary in Oxford.

 

But she added that more research is needed to

determine if the risk drops after women stop taking

birth control pills.

 

" The small amount of evidence that was available

suggests it might do but we really want to look at

this in more detail. That is the next step, "

Berrington added in a telephone interview.

 

The researchers hope to have more information about

the impact of stopping sometime next year.

 

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in

women worldwide with more than 470,000 new cases each

year.

If it is diagnosed and treated early survival rates

are good.

 

The sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) is

linked to the majority of cervical cancer cases. An

earlier study found that long-term use of the Pill

could quadruple the risk of the cancer in women with

HPV.

 

Berrington said the latest analysis, which was

commissioned by the World Health Organization and is

reported in The Lancet medical journal, shows a raised

risk of cervical cancer regardless of whether a woman

has the virus.

 

Previous research had also shown the Pill may increase

the risk of breast cancer but could lower the chances

of ovarian cancer.

 

The researchers did not have information about the

type or brand of birth control pills used by the

12,500 women with cervical cancer in the 28 studies

analyzed. German drugmaker Schering AG is the world's

largest producer of birth control pills.

 

" If you look at the whole range of cancers, oral

contraceptives are still beneficial since we know they

provide protection against ovarian and some other

cancers, " said Schering spokeswoman Astrid Forster in

Berlin.

 

The charity FPA, Family Planning Association, said the

findings contribute to the understanding of the role

oral contraceptives may play in the development of

cervical cancer.

 

" The Pill is highly effective in preventing pregnancy

and reduces the risk of both cancer of the ovaries and

womb. The benefits of using the Pill greatly outweigh

the risk for the vast majority of women, " its chief

executive, Anne Weyman, said in a statement.

 

Berrington emphasized the importance of regular

screening to detect early signs of the disease and

said women concerned about the findings should talk to

their doctor.

 

2003 Reuters Limited.

2003 Inc.

 

 

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story2 & cid=571 & ncid=751 & e=4 & u=/nm/20030404\

/hl_nm/cancer_women_dc

 

 

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