Birth Control & Cancer: Which Methods Raise, Lower Risk

You may have heard that some birth control methods are linked to cancer. If you spend some time online, you'll probably find more than a handful of contradicting reports saying some types cause cancer, while others fend it off. How do you know what to believe?

The connection between cancer risk and hormonal birth control is complicated and our understanding has changed over time with the launch of new products and doses. While this is challenging, it’s important to remember that cancer isn’t a single disease. “Different types of cancer have different causes, and things that raise your risk of one type of cancer can lower your risk of another,” says Dr. Lauren Teras, Senior Scientific Director of Epidemiology Research at the American Cancer Society.

Here is a quick look at some popular birth control options and what we know today about their links to common cancers.

Oral birth control may increase breast cancer risk

If you currently take or have taken birth control pills in the recent past, you are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than women who've never used them. Fortunately, research shows that this risk is small and goes away within 5 to 7 years of stopping them.

Some research hints this risk might be caused by high-dose estrogen, but progesterone-only birth control options also carry a risk. According to Dr. Teras, “most hormonal birth control contains either estrogen and progesterone (sometimes called a combination pill) or just progesterone.  Less is known about cancer risk from progestogen-only methods but a very large, recent study in the UK found that current or recent use of progestogen-only contraceptives also increases breast cancer risk.”

When it comes to breast cancer and birth control, some things that might lower your risk are:

• Reducing the number of years you are taking birth control pills.
• Choosing a different form of birth control. For example, a non-hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) is a reversible form of birth control that isn’t linked to breast cancer. Also, it might also help lower your risk of cervical and endometrial cancer.

Oral birth control may increase cervical cancer risk

Taking birth control pills for 5 or more years might make you more likely to get cervical cancer. The longer you use them, the higher your risk. The risk tends to go back down over time when you stop taking the pills.

Most cervical cancers are caused by a persistent infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV). Today, doctors usually screen for such infections with HPV testing during a woman's health exam. Also, HPV vaccination can be used to prevent cancers related to HPV infection.

Things that might lower your risk:

• Getting regular HPV screenings and HPV vaccination.
• Choosing another form of birth control, like an IUD.