According to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, the use of progestogen-only hormonal contraceptives is associated with a 20–30% increased risk of breast cancer. Several studies have shown that the combined contraceptive pill, which contains both estrogen and progestogen, is linked with a small increase in the risk of developing breast cancer.

In the study, the researchers from the Oxford Population Healths Cancer Epidemiology Unit analyzed data from 9,498 women who developed invasive breast cancer between the ages of 20 and 49. They closely matched it with 18,171 women without breast cancer who were included as controls.

The findings of ten studies showed a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer associated with hormonal contraceptive use. The increase in the rusk was observed irrespective of whether the contraceptive prescribed was a combination oral preparation (23%), a progestogen-only oral preparation (26%), an injected progestogen (25%), or a progestogen-releasing intra-uterine device (32%), respectively.

However, the researchers stated that the increased risk of breast cancer associated with oral contraceptive use declined after stopping use. In the follow-up study, it was observed that the increased risks of breast cancer when the pill was last prescribed within the last year were 33%, followed by prescriptions dated one to four years ago (17%) and prescriptions dated five or more years ago (15%).

 (Source: https://www.theweek.in/news/health/2023/03/23/hormonal-birth-control-pills-linked-with-small-breast-cancer-ris.html )