It has long been known that hormonal contraceptives, such as the pill, can increase the risk of breast cancer. Now, researchers have broken down the different types of progestogens and studied them separately. Progestogens are the synthetic form of progesterone that is included in many contraceptives.
Using national registries, they looked at data from more than two million women aged 13 to 49 and found significant differences in risk. Women who had ever used hormonal contraceptives had a 24 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who had never used them. The study is published in the journal JAMA Oncology.
Found in the family
Even though it is a small absolute risk, it is important to have information when choosing. If you know that there is breast cancer in the family, it may be something to take into account, says Åsa Johansson, researcher at Uppsala University and SciLifeLab.
Those who used preparations with desogestrel, such as Cerazette, Desolett and Mercilon, for 5 to 10 years had an almost 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer, while the corresponding use of preparations with levonorgestrel, which is used in many combined contraceptive pills such as Trionetta, Prionelle and Neovletta and in hormonal IUDs, showed an approximately 20 percent increased risk.
Has great advantages
For preparations containing drospirenone such as Yaz, Yasmin and Rosal, or medroxyprogesterone acetate, a long-acting agent given as an injection every twelve weeks, no statistically significant increased risk was seen.
Hormonal contraceptives are very effective and we do not encourage anyone to stop using them. They also have health benefits as they reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, among other things, and help with menstrual pain and heavy bleeding.
Not least, they give women control over when they want to get pregnant or not, she says.
The risk also decreases when you stop using hormonal contraceptives and previous studies have shown that 5 years after stopping, they no longer affect the risk.
Another known fact is that certain preparations, especially those with a combination of progestin and estrogen, carry an increased risk of blood clots. According to Åsa Johansson, it is a good idea to discuss with your midwife or the person who prescribes the contraceptive which is most suitable.
In the study, which is published in Jama Oncology and partly funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, the researchers examined different types of hormonal contraceptives and their connection to the risk of breast cancer.
Over two million women aged 13–49 in Sweden were included and followed via national registers from 2006 to 2019.
According to the results, certain progestogens, especially desogestrel, which is found in Cerazette, Desolett and Mercilon, among others, are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, compared to other types.
The study also showed that products with levonorgestrel, the progestin used in IUDs, but also in combined pills such as Trionetta, Prionelle and Neovletta, were associated with a lower risk compared to desogestrel.
Birth control pills containing drospirenone combined with estrogen, which are sold under the names Rosal, Yaz or Yasmin, among others, could not be linked to any increased risk of breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and accounts for approximately 26 percent of all female cancers. 8,898 people were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023.
Source: Jama Oncology, Swedish Cancer Society
