Contraceptives and brain cancer: a justified risk

Birth control pills increase the risk of developing a brain tumor

Copper news based on ScienceDaily materials:
Long-term use of hormonal contraceptives is associated with an increased risk of a rare brain tumor, study findsA study by scientists from the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Odense showed that taking hormonal contraceptives for five years or more increases the risk of developing a rare brain tumor – glioma.

The research results are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (Andersen et al., Hormonal contraceptive use and risk of glioma among younger women a nationwide case-control study).

The study involved 317 women aged 15 to 49 years with diagnosed brain glioma. On average, the use of any oral contraceptives increases the likelihood of developing glioma by about 1.5 times, and this probability increases with the duration of their use. In women who have been using birth control pills containing only progesterone (without estrogen) for more than five years, the incidence rates were increased by 2.4 times compared to the control group.

"It is important to perceive the increase in this risk not in isolation from all the facts and circumstances, but in their context. Out of a hundred thousand women of reproductive age, including those who take oral contraceptives, we can expect only five cases of glioma per year," ScienceDaily quoted the words of the main author of the study, David Gaist. "And although we found a statistically significant association between taking oral contraceptives and the development of glioma, the benefits of using them far outweigh the potential risk."

Earlier, researchers reported that taking hormonal birth control pills can increase the risk of breast cancer by an average of 50 percent, and researchers from Florida State University noticed that under their influence, the chosen one begins to seem more attractive to a woman, but after the drug is discontinued, its attractiveness in the eyes of a woman usually decreases.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.01.2015