ArticleCancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology2015
Oral contraceptive use and colorectal cancer in the Nurses' Health Study I and II.
Article in Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Medication use and risk of proximal colon cancer: a systematic review of prospective studies with narrative synthesis and meta-analysis.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2021Pooled it
- Uncovering hypothesis-generating associations between prescription drugs and digestive cancer risk: a case-control drug-wide association study (DWAS).Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026Article
- Steroid hormone-induced wingless ligands tune female intestinal size in Drosophila.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Review of the literature on combined oral contraceptives and cancer.Ecancermedicalscience · 2022Review
- Endogenous Progestogens and Colorectal Cancer Risk among Postmenopausal Women.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2021Article
- Plasma sex hormones and risk of conventional and serrated precursors of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.BMC medicine · 2021Article
- Theoretical potential for endometrial cancer prevention through primary risk factor modification: Estimates from the EPIC cohort.International journal of cancer · 2020Article
- Hormonal and reproductive factors and reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer.European journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation (ECP) · 2020Observational
- Risk factors for colorectal cancer significantly vary by anatomic site.BMJ open gastroenterology · 2019Article
- Association of Combined Estrogen-Progestogen and Progestogen-Only Contraceptives with the Development of Cancer.The Linacre quarterly · 2018Review
- The role of pregnancy, perinatal factors and hormones in maternal cancer risk: a review of the evidence.Journal of internal medicine · 2018Review
- Reproductive factors and risk of colorectal polyps in a colonoscopy-based study in western Washington State.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2017Article
- Exogenous Hormone Use: Oral Contraceptives, Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy, and Health Outcomes in the Nurses' Health Study.American journal of public health · 2016Review
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10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIt remains unclear if oral contraceptive (OC) use is associated with the incidence of colorectal cancer. Few studies have examined this association by duration of OC use, time since last OC use, and different cancer subsites.
methodsAmong 88,691 participants of the Nurses' Health Study I (NHSI) and 93,080 participants of the Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII), we assessed OC use every 2 years between 1976 and 2010 and categorized it as ever use, duration of use, and time since last use. We included incident colorectal cancer cases through 2010 (NHSI: age at diagnosis = 36-88, N = 1,764; NHSII: age at diagnosis = 33-64, N = 206). Multivariable hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.
resultsEver OC use was not associated with colorectal cancer in NHSI [1.01 (0.91, 1.12)] nor NHSII [1.03 (0.69, 1.53)]. In NHSII, when compared with never-users, longer durations (5+ years) of OC use were inversely associated with the risk of colon cancers (Ptrend = 0.02) but the number of endpoints was limited. No other colorectal cancer subsites were associated with OC durations or times since last OC use in either cohort.
conclusionsIn two large prospective cohorts, we found little evidence that OC use may be protective for colorectal cancer, except potentially with longer durations of use among younger women. IMPACT: Our results do not support the previous initial studies that reported an inverse association of recent OC use with colorectal cancer but instead support newer, larger studies demonstrating no such association.
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