Is it true that birth control pills can reduce the risk of uterine cancer?

Contents:

Medical Video: Women's Health : Health Risks of Birth Control Pills

Birth control pills are one type of contraceptive that affects female hormone levels.This contraceptive pill provides several additional health benefits besides preventing pregnancy, including reducing the risk of endometrial cancer (uterine cancer). What does the medical world say about the effect of this one birth control pill?

How the birth control pill works in the body

In the body, birth control pills release the hormone progesterone to help prevent pregnancy in three ways: First, it prevents the ovaries from releasing the egg to prevent fertilization from happening. Second, change the thickness of the cervical mucus to make it difficult for sperm to move into the uterus to look for eggs. Finally, change the lining of the uterine wall so that the fertilized egg cannot be implanted in the uterus.

What do you say about the effects of birth control pills to reduce the risk of endometrial cancer?

Research published in the Lancet Oncology states that the use of birth control pills regularly in the long term is associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer (uterine cancer).In contrast, the incidence of endometrial cancer in the group of women who did not use birth control pills was estimated to reach 2.3 out of 100 cases before the age of 75 years.

Women who have taken regular birth control pills for 5 years can reduce their risk of endometrial cancer by as much as 24 percent. The researchers found that the longer you use birth control pills, the greater the risk reduction. Furthermore, sThis study also estimated that birth control pills had successfully prevented 200,000 occurrences of endometrial cancer in the past 10 years.

The study above seems to corroborate the findings of the long-term study of Dr. Lisa Iversen in 1968. Reporting from the University of Aberdeen website, after observing nearly 46 thousand women for 44 years, Dr. Iversen reported that women who used birth control pills regularly during the study period had the lowest risk of endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer, and ovarian cancer.The effect of the birth control pill continues for 30 years after they stop using it.

In addition, the research team also found no evidence of the risk of other types of cancer experienced by women who had used birth control pills in old age.

What is the connection between birth control pills and the uterine wall?

Jenifer Wu, an obstetrician (SpOG) at Lenox Hill Hospital New York, believes that the hormones estrogen and progestin in birth control pills work to preventthickening of the uterine wall cells. The effect of this birth control pill is that the fertilized egg cannot be implanted in the uterus, so it will participate in the menstrual blood.

Well, this thickening of the cervical wall according to Wucan be a place for the development of abnormal cells or pre-cancerous cells that can become cancerous cells. Women who take birth control pills routinely have a thinner lining of the uterus that can reduce the risk of developing abnormal cells that become the forerunner of this cancer.

So, are birth control pills the best contraceptives to choose from?

Every contraception has its advantages and disadvantages. Although birth control pills have a protective effect against endometrial cancer, this contraception not the only absolute way to prevent cancer.

Because there are various other factors that play a role in determining how much you risk to experience uterine cancer, aka endometrial cancer, such as excessive weight, smoking and drinking habits, to the health conditions of the reproductive organs themselves. The most important principle to prevent cancer is to keep a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating and regular exercise.

The choice of contraception also basically depends on the needs, health conditions, and what is not less important is the advice of the doctor. So, consult your obstetrician first if you decide to start taking birth control pills.

Is it true that birth control pills can reduce the risk of uterine cancer?
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