Contraceptive pill ‘reduces cancer risk’

Taking the contraceptive pill could reduce a woman’s risk of contracting cancer by up to 12 per cent, new research has suggested.

But the large-scale study from the Royal College of General Practitioners also claims that women who use the pill for more than eight years are more likely to suffer from certain types of cancer affecting the cervix and central nervous system.

In addition, the research claims that women who take the pill, thought to number 300 million worldwide, can enjoy the health benefits for up to 15 years after they stop taking the contraceptive.

Writing on the British Medical Journal’s website, researchers say their survey is the first to examine the absolute risks of benefits of the pill, which since being made readily available in the 1960s has frequently been linked to increased cancer risks.

A 36-year study of 46,000 women with an average age of 29 shows no connection between the contraceptive and an elevated risk of suffering from cancer.

“In this UK cohort, oral contraception was not associated with an overall increased risk of any cancer, indeed it may even produce a net public health gain,” the report’s authors write.

Researchers arrived at their findings by analysing data given to GPs by women involved in the study at six month intervals.

Commenting on the research, the Family Planning Association said the study had confirmed that for the majority of women taking the pill “the benefits far outweigh any potential risks”.