Taking the pill protects against uterine cancer

A study by The Lancet Oncology confirms that in the last 10 years 200,000 cases of uterine cancer have been avoided by using the birth control pill.

British researchers compared 27,000 women across 36 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa who had been diagnosed with cancer of the uterus with women who had not been diagnosed with the illness. They found that taking the pill for five years lowered the chance of uterine cancer by 25% and that of 3.4 million cancer cases, some 400,000 were avoided by use of oral contraceptives.

The effect remains the same despite the fact that the amount of oestrogen in a birth control pill is significantly lower today than it was in the 1980s.

According to Valerie Beral, the research coordinator from the University of Oxford, “The protective effect remains years after taking the pill,” even if a woman only took the pill for a few years.

However, the overall risks of taking the pill are still debated. While it lowers the risk of uterine cancer, it raises the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases.

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