What is the link between cervical cancer and birth control pills?
Dr. Amy Berrington from the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, said the research showed that the longer women used the pill the greater their risk of developing cervical cancer, and the effect remained even when other risk factors for the disease such as infection with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) were taken into account. This runs contrary to the theory that the increased risk of cervical cancer among women taking contraceptives was likely due to exposure to the virus, rather than the pill itself. They found that women who used the pill for five years or less had a 10 per cent increased risk of cervical cancer when compared with women who had never taken it. This increased risk rose to 60 per cent with five to nine years of use and doubled with 10 years of use or over. Oral Contraceptives linked to Cervical Cancer. See the article here.
