Contemporary hormonal contraception included birth control methods that act on the endocrine system. Some findings suggest that the use of hormonal contraception may also be linked to a decreased risk of ovarian cancer. This study aims to evaluate the association between contemporary combined hormonal contraceptives and the risk of ovarian cancer.
This is a prospective, nationwide cohort study that included a total of 1,879,227 women aged 15-49 years, and was categorized as never users (never used hormonal contraception), current or recent users (currently using, or used within one year), or former users (not used since one year). The primary outcome was the relative risk of ovarian cancer calculated using Poisson regression.
During 21.4 million years of follow-up, 1,249 incident ovarian cancers occurred. Over 13,344,531 person-years, 478 ovarian cancers were recorded among users of hormonal contraception. 771 ovarian cancers occurred among never users during 8,150,250 years of follow-up. The risk of ovarian cancer was less in current or recent and former users of hormonal contraception when compared with former users (relative risk 0.58).
The research concluded that the use of contemporary combined hormonal contraceptives, like progestogen types, were associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer in women of reproductive age.
Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3609
