Researchers from Wayne State University in Detroit have conducted a study which looked at endometrial cancer cases in relation with race and ethnicity. This type of cancer typically strikes women after the end of their reproductive years – 60 years old and above according to NCI as told by Reuters.
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The investigators found that incidence rates for endometrial cancers were rising among all racial/ethnic groups, with the greatest annual percentage increase seen among non-Hispanic black and Asian women (the annual percentage increase was 2.5 for both groups).
Women who use oral contraceptives during their reproductive years may gain long-term protection against endometrial cancer, a review of previous research suggests. Previous research has already linked the pills to ovarian tumors and now endometrial cancer seems to be avoided through oral contraceptives intake.
The disadvantages and risks of taking birth control pills are often highlighted on mainstream news as the drug is popularly known to increase risks of having brain and breast cancer.
Gynecologic oncology researcher Dr. Joshua Cohen from the University of California, Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center was not involved in the study, but he said that there are things that women themselves can do in order to prevent endometrial cancer such as avoiding obesity and keeping a healthy lifestyle. Hispanic and Asian women had incidence rate ratios equal to or lower than non-Hispanic white women for all histologic subtypes.
Michele Cote, a researcher at WSU’s Karmanos Cancer Institute, led a team of scientists in examining data collected from cancer registries between 2000 and 2011. Around 40% of women who did not get diagnosed with the cancer had taken the pills for more than four years.
Finally, the study authors contribute, “Endometrial cancer incidence is increasing for all women, particularly the aggressive subtypes”.
Oral contraceptives most commonly prescribed by physicians feature man-made versions of progesterone and estrogen, two natural hormones produced by the female body.
Cote added that there are certain differences in the biology of tumors that they still have to identify, which could cause the disease to be more aggressive in African-American women. In the assessment, around 50% of the women were at least 63 years of age. This continues on even after the users have stopped using the contraceptives after 30 years.
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In the studied high-income countries, use of birth control pills was linked to a reduction in the risk of getting endometrial cancer by age 75. In addition, there is 17 percent lower risk of less common sarcomas, which is a type of cancer that begins in the uterine muscle and supportive tissue. But apart from that, birth control pills offer protection against endometrial cancer, a new study suggests.
