Taking the Pill for 15 years could half the risk of ovarian cancer.

The Contraceptive Pill can give women protection against ovarian cancer for more than 30 years, according to a new report led by scientists at the University of Oxford.

According to researchers, the protection lasts even when women have stopped taking the Pill, and the longer it is used, the greater the protection. Taking the Pill for 15 years for example, was found to half the risk of ovarian cancer.

Lead author Professor Valerie Beral, Director of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, commented on the findings: “Worldwide, the Pill has already prevented 200,000 women from developing cancer of the ovary and has prevented 100,000 deaths from the disease. More than 100 million women are now taking the Pill, so the number of ovarian cancers prevented will rise over the next few decades to about 30,000 per year.”

In addition, research shows that the Pill causes long-lasting protection against endometrial cancer – cancer of the lining of the womb, however causes a short-lived increase in breast cancer and cervical cancer – cancer of the neck of the womb.

Co-author Sir Richard Peto, Professor of Epidemiology at Oxford University, added: “Young women don’t have to worry about cancer from taking the Pill because the eventual reduction in ovarian cancer is bigger than any increase in other types of cancer caused by the Pill.”

The study, published in full in The Lancet, brings together research from 45 epidemiological studies of ovarian cancer in 21 countries. It was conducted by Oxford researchers, along with the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer, a collaboration involving 120 researchers from around the world. The work was also supported by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council.

By Natasha Piscitelli