New Study Shows Double Cervical Cancer Risk for Oral Contraceptive Users
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
November 14, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study shows a strong correlation between the use of "the pill" and an increased cervical cancer risk.
The study, which was conducted by researchers at Oxford University and appears in the current edition of The Lancet, reviewed twenty-four studies examining the cases of more than 50,000 women. It concluded that women using oral contraceptives double their risk of cervical cancer, and that the increased risk lasts for ten years after cessation of use. The study also found that the longer the pill is used, the greater the risk.
The results of the study match others that have found an increased risk of both cervical cancer and breast cancer in women who use oral contraceptives, including several that have appeared in The Lancet. A European study earlier this year also found an increased risk for heart disease, even after women stop taking the medication.
However, the authors of the study were quick to emphasize that the main cause of cervical cancer is the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted pathogen common among promiscuous people in western countries. They also claimed that the increased risk of cervical and breast cancer are more than offset by reductions in ovarian and endometrial cancers in women who use the drug.
Previous LifeSiteNews.com. coverage:
CONTRACEPTIVE LINK TO CERVICAL CANCER NOW IN THE LANCET
CANCER-LINKED, CONDOM RESISTANT STD INFECTS ONE IN FIVE US WOMEN
BIRTH CONTROL PILL LINKED TO 400% INCREASED RISK OF CERVICAL CANCER
THE PILL IS DEADLY TO BABIES AND WOMEN