Fresh light shed on cancer risk

Press, 22 October 1983, Page 10

Fresh light shed on cancer risk

NZPA London Women who take certain “high” dose oral contraceptive pills over a prolonged time before the age of 25 may run a significantly increased risk of breast cancer.

But according to a report published yesterday there is no evidence for any increase in the risk for women who start taking the pill later in life. There is also no additional risk attached to taking “low” dose pills at a young age. The commonly used pill contains two hormonal components, an oestrogen and a progestogen. Pills vary considerably, particularly in progestogen potency, and it is the “high” level progestogen pills which have been associated with an increased breast cancer risk.

These are the principal conclusions of a report in the “Lancet” by Dr Malcolm Pike, Professor B. E. Henderson and their colleagues from the University of Southern California School of Medicine.

Dr Pike has recently replaced Sir Richard Doll as director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund

epidemiology unit at Oxford.

“Assuming these new findings are substantiated, then the answer to this problem is simply for women under tha age of 25 not to take pills with a high progestogen content,” said Dr Pike.

“There are many other pills on the market which are low in progestogen and these ‘low’ dose pills appear to be safe, even for younger women.” Dr Pike added that both “low” and “high” dose pills were known to exert a protective effect on both ovarian and uterine cancer. The question of a possible link between breast cancer and some form of oral contraceptive has arisen in the past because it is known that a woman’s menstrual and reproductive history plays a big part in the development of breast cancer.

The early onset of periods, a late first pregnancy and a late menopause are known to increase the risk of the disease.

Dr Pike emphasised that his results needed to be confirmed by, other investigators before they can be regarded as definitive.