Birth Control Pill Prevents Uterine Cancer: Study

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In 2012, the American Cancer Society estimated that about 47,000 new cases of uterine cancer will be diagnosed, and about 8,000 women will be fatally afflicted by cancers of the uterine body, according to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

There are several types of uterine cancer, and the most common one begins in the endometrium, which is the inner lining of the uterus. This type of cancer is called endometrial cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, most endometrial cancers are those that begin in cells that create uterine fluids. Another type of cancer of the womb is uterine sarcoma, a kind that begins in the muscle tissue that supports the uterus.

The National Cancer Institute reports that risk factors of uterine cancer include obesity and the intake of estrogen without progesterone. The NCI adds that the intake of tamoxifen for breast cancer may also increase the risk of endometrial cancer and uterine sarcoma.

A new study, however, reveals that taking oral contraceptives plays a part in preventing uterine cancer, the Sunday Morning Herald reports. The study says that women who have been taking contraceptive pills for around 10 to 15 years are 50% less at risk for developing uterine cancer.

A team of international researchers co-led by Valerie Beral, a professor at Britain's Oxford University, studied 27, 276 women with endometrial cancer in 36 studies from North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. According to Reuters, the researchers found that in more developed countries, women who used oral contraceptives for 10 years reduced the risk of acquiring endometrial cancer before they hit 75.

"The present results...suggest that in high-income countries, oral contraceptives have, over the past 50 years, already prevented a total of about 400,000 endometrial cancers before the age of 75 years, including 200,000 in the past decade," said Associate Professor Karen Canfell, director of cancer research at Cancer Council NSW, and a member of the research team. The Sunday Morning Herald adds that as one of the most common form of uterine cancer, endometrium cancer claims the lives of 2,500 Australian women yearly.

"The strong protective effect of oral contraceptives against endometrial cancer—which persists for decades after stopping the pill—means that women who use it when they are in their 20s or even younger continue to benefit into their 50s and older, when cancer becomes more common," said Beral.

She added: "Previous research has shown that the pill also protects against ovarian cancer. People used to worry that the pill might cause cancer, but in the long term the pill reduces the risk of getting cancer."