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News of the Day ... In Perspective12/28/2007
Oral contraceptives increase breast cancer risk, study shows
According to a meta-analysis published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings� but virtually ignored in the mainstream press, use of oral contraceptives increases risk of premenopausal breast cancer, writes Dennis Byrne (Chicago Tribune 12/3/07).
The greatest increase in risk, 52%, was in parous women who used oral contraceptives for four or more years before their first full-term pregnancy (Kahlenborn C, et al. Mayo Clinic Proc 2006;81:1290-1302, 2006).
Byrne notes that stories about other breast cancer risks were plentiful, including one about sleeping with a night light on. The National Institute of Cancer doesn�t mention the study on its web site, nor does the American Cancer Society. The latter concedes only that �it is still not clear what part� the pill plays in breast cancer.
Curiously, those who protest about government and big business failing to �do enough� to protect consumers are silent about this particular risk, Byrne writes.
�Here, I also should clarify some things to all the folks who are itching to hit the �post comment� button. Kahlenborn is pro-life, but what has that to do with his research? As for me, I am not opposed to contraception, oral or otherwise. I am not plotting to get the pill banned. I am not writing this column for hidden religious reasons. I�m not saying the Kahlenborn study is the last word�. I�m writing about it because people have the right to know about the existence of health information, even if it is contradictory to the given wisdom.�
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