Long-term effect of KB pills, can you reduce the risk of endometrial cancer?

Birth control pills are a type of contraceptive that affects female hormone levels. These contraceptive pills provide several additional health benefits apart from preventing pregnancy, including lowering the risk of endometrial cancer (uterine cancer). What does the medical world say about the effects of this birth control pill?

How birth control pills work in the body

In the body, birth control pills release the hormone progesterone to help prevent pregnancy in three ways: First, it prevents the ovaries from releasing the egg so that fertilization does not occur. Second, changing the thickness of the cervical mucus to make it difficult for sperm to move into the uterus to find eggs. Finally, changing the lining of the uterine wall so that the fertilized egg cannot possibly implant in the uterus.

What does the research say about the effects of birth control pills on lowering the risk of endometrial cancer?

Research published in the Lancet Oncology states that regular long-term use of birth control pills is associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer (uterine cancer). In contrast, the incidence rate of endometrial cancer in the group of women who do not use birth control pills is estimated to be 2.3 out of 100 cases before the age of 75 years.

Women who have been taking regular birth control pills for 5 years can reduce their risk of endometrial cancer by as much as 24 percent. Researchers have found that the longer you use birth control pills, the greater the reduction in risk. Furthermore, this study also estimates that birth control pills have succeeded in preventing 200,000 incidents of endometrial cancer in the last 10 years.

The above study seems to corroborate the findings of dr. Lisa Iversen in 1968. Reporting from the page of the University of Aberdeen, after observing nearly 46 thousand women for 44 years, dr. Iversen reported that women who used birth control pills routinely during the study period had the lowest risk of endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer, and ovarian cancer. The effects of the birth control pill continued for 30 years after they stopped using it.

In addition, the research team also found no evidence of a risk of developing other types of cancer experienced by women who have used birth control pills in old age.

What do birth control pills have to do with the uterine lining?

Jenifer Wu, an obstetrician (SpOG) at Lenox Hill Hospital New York, believes that the hormones estrogen and progestin in birth control pills work to prevent the thickening of the uterine wall cells. The effect of this birth control pill is that it is impossible for the fertilized egg to implant in the uterus, so that it will also be shed in menstrual blood.

Well, this thickening of the cervical wall is what according to Wu can be a place for the development of abnormal cells or pre-cancerous cells that can become cancerous cells. Women who take birth control pills regularly have a thinner lining of the uterine lining, which can reduce the risk of abnormal cell development that can lead to this cancer.

So, are the birth control pills the best form of contraception to choose from?

Each contraceptive has its own advantages and disadvantages. Although birth control pills have a protective effect against endometrial cancer, they are not the only absolute way to prevent cancer.

The reason is that there are various other factors that play a role in determining how much your risk for developing uterine cancer, aka endometrial cancer, such as excess body weight, smoking and drinking habits, to the health condition of the reproductive organs themselves. The most important principle for preventing cancer is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet and regular exercise.

The choice of contraceptive also basically depends on your needs, health conditions, and last but not least is the advice from your doctor. So, consult your obstetrician first if you decide you want to start taking birth control pills.