Relation between oral contraceptives and cervical cancer
Oral contraceptives, the most common form of effective and reversible contraception in the United States (1), significantly decrease the personal and societal burdens associated with unintended or unwanted pregnancy (2, 3). Oral contraceptives also have significant noncontraceptive health benefits such as improving acne and regulating dysmenorrhea (4–7). However, oral contraceptive use is not without risks. Many studies show serious adverse events associated with oral contraceptive use including venous thromboembolic disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke (4-7). Assessing the risk of cancer associated with oral contraceptive use is fraught with difficulties. For example, cancer is a disease with a long latency period, and the time between exposure to oral contraceptives and diagnosis of cancer may span decades. Also, temporal variations in oral contraceptive formulations available on the market and used over a woman's lifetime may influence associations between cancer risk and oral contraceptive use. Furthermore, patterns of oral contraceptive use over a lifetime may be influenced by factors that also affect cancer risks (e.g., gravidity, parity, breastfeeding). Duration of oral contraceptive use or length of time since ceasing use (i.e., recency) may also modify the risk of cancers associated with oral contraceptives . We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to inform the use of oral contraceptives to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. In addition to the primary question regarding ovarian cancer, we also addressed other harms and benefits of oral contraceptive use. In this article, we examine the evidence for associations between oral contraceptive use and the risks of developing cancer in cervical region , When possible.
Other
Oral contraceptives may influence the risk of certain cancers. As part of the AHRQ Evidence Report, Oral Contraceptive Use for the Primary Prevention of Ovarian Cancer, we conducted a systematic review to estimate associations between oral contraceptive use and breast, cervical, colorectal, and endometrial cancer incidence. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Study inclusion criteria were women taking oral contraceptives for contraception or ovarian cancer prevention; includes comparison group with no oral contraceptive use; study reports quantitative associations between oral contraceptive exposure and relevant cancers; controlled study or pooled patient-level meta-analyses; sample size for nonrandomized studies ≥100; peer-reviewed, English- language; published from January 1, 2000 forward. Random-effects meta- analyses were conducted by estimating pooled ORs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). 12 Cervical cancers studies were included in this report . results show a higher risk associated with more recent use of oral contraceptives. Risk of cervical cancer was increased with duration of oral contraceptive use in women with human papillomavirus infection.
