This little magic tablet saves us from turning into breeding rabbits and ending up with 10 toddlers in our paws. Pregnancy yes, but by choice. However, the flip side of the coin is not pretty. The pill is blamed for all sorts of harm, ranging from minor inconveniences to fairly serious illnesses:risk of cardiovascular disease, risk of breast and liver cancer. However, here we are, a study, published on August 5, reveals unsuspected benefits:the pill would protect against cancer of the uterus and would have avoided nearly 200,000 cancers in the last ten years.
Valérie Beral, Professor at the University of Oxford and coordinator of the work, declares that "the significant protective effect of oral contraceptives against endometrial cancer persists for years after stopping the pill". According to the researcher, the benefits are visible even in women who have only taken the pill for a few short years and go beyond the age of 50, the age at which cancer can manifest.
It appears from the study that taking an oral contraceptive for 5 years would reduce the risk of having endometrial cancer before the age of 75 by about 25%. Ingested for 10 years, the pill would halve this risk, which would drop from 2.3 cases per 100 women to 1.3. The researchers point out that, although these benefits exist, the fact remains that the pill can increase the risk of developing certain cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke).
Nicolas Wentzensen and Amy Berrington, from the Bethesda Health Institute (USA) note:"The risk-benefit is much more favorable for existing formulas with a low estrogen dose, but the risk of venous thrombosis (formation of clots in the veins) remains greater in women who use oral contraceptives compared to those who do not. »
The debate and controversies around the birth control pill are far from over. In 2005, the IARC (International Agency For Research On Cancer) and the WHO estimated that the pill was responsible for a slight increase in the risk of cancer of the breast, cervix and liver but had a protective effect. against ovarian and endometrial cancers.
