ArticleCancer causes & control : CCC2017
A prospective cohort study of oral contraceptive use and ovarian cancer among women in the United States born from 1947 to 1964.
Article in Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the impact of contraceptive use on reproductive cancer risk among women of reproductive age-a systematic review.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Pooled it
- A Multistate Survival Model to Identify Risk Factors for Lethal Ovarian Cancer.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026Article
- Associations of oral contraceptives with expression of CD44, CD24, and ALDH1A1 stem cell markers in women with benign breast biopsies.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2026Article
- Oral contraceptives exposure may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis based on cohort studies.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Global epidemiology of epithelial ovarian cancer.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2024Review
- Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Exposure Compromises Fertility by Affecting Ovarian and Oocyte Development.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Reevaluating the Role of Progesterone in Ovarian Cancer: Is Progesterone Always Protective?Endocrine reviews · 2023Article
- Prevention of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine · 2023Review
- Beyond the pill: contraception and the prevention of hereditary ovarian cancer.Hereditary cancer in clinical practice · 2022Review
- Associations of Oral Contraceptives with Mammographic Breast Density in Premenopausal Women.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2022Article
- Oral contraceptive use by formulation and endometrial cancer risk among women born in 1947-1964: The Nurses' Health Study II, a prospective cohort study.European journal of epidemiology · 2021Article
- Huang et al. Respond to "Ovulation and Systemic and Localized Inflammation Markers" and "Capturing Women's Reproductive Life Spans".American journal of epidemiology · 2020Article
- Estimated Number of Lifetime Ovulatory Years and Its Determinants in Relation to Levels of Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers.American journal of epidemiology · 2020Article
- Association between contemporary hormonal contraception and ovarian cancer in women of reproductive age in Denmark: prospective, nationwide cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2018Article
- Current Gaps in Ovarian Cancer Epidemiology: The Need for New Population-Based Research.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2017Review
- Long-Term Follow-Up after Surgical Management for Atypical Endometriosis: A Series of Nine Cases.Case reports in oncologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeOral contraceptives (OCs) have been consistently associated with a reduced ovarian cancer risk; however, most previous studies included women in older birth cohorts using high-dose OC formulations. We assessed OC use, including type and dose, and ovarian cancer risk among women born between 1947 and 1964 using more recent formulations.
methodsWe included 110,929 Nurses' Health Study II participants. Women reported duration of OC use and brands used from age 13 to baseline (1989) and every 2 years thereafter through 2009. We categorized brands by estrogen and progestin type, dose, and potency, and used Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, calendar time, reproductive factors, and body mass index, to assess associations with ovarian cancer.
resultsOver 2,178,679 person-years of follow-up, we confirmed 281 cases. At baseline, 83% of participants reported ever using OCs. Compared to never use, we observed an increased risk of ovarian cancer with ≤6 months of OC use (HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.13-2.93) but a non-significant 57% (95% CI 0.18-1.03) decreased risk with ≥15 years of OC use. The increased risk among short-term users (≤1 year) was restricted to OCs containing mestranol (HR 1.83; 95% CI 1.16-2.88) and first-generation progestin (HR 1.72; 95% CI 1.11-2.65).
conclusionThe associations between OCs and ovarian cancer observed for this younger birth cohort differ substantially from the results of previous cohort studies, possibly reflecting changes in OC formulations and use patterns over time, although these results could be due to chance. Additional studies should evaluate newer OC formulations and ovarian cancer risk.
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