Breast cancer and specific types of combined oral contraceptives. The WHO Collaborative Study of Neoplasia and Steroid Contraceptives

Abstract

Data on 2,754 cases and 18,565 controls from a multinational hospital-based, case-control study were analysed to determine whether observed associations between combined oral contraceptives and breast cancer are similar for oral contraceptives with varying types and doses of oestrogens and progestins. After stratifying on duration of use, risk was found to be increased in current and recent users, and to decline with time since last use. These associations, of similar strength, were observed for users of products that contain mestranol and ethinyl estradiol, for women who used preparations with progestins derived from 19-nortestosterone and 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, and for those who took preparations with relatively higher and lower doses of oestrogen. When products with equal doses of the same oestrogen or progestin and varying doses of the other hormonal constituent were considered, slightly higher relative risks per year of use were estimated for users of products with relatively higher than lower doses of either the constituent oestrogen or progestin, but the differences in relative risk could readily have occurred by chance. This study provides no evidence that risk of breast cancer in users of oral contraceptives varies by the type of oestrogen or progestin consumed.