Unsafe Drugs: Oral Contraceptives Increase Breast Cancer Rate Slightly

The journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings reports that oral contraceptive use is a risk factor for premenopausal breast cancer. However, even for parous women, those who have used oral contraceptives for at least four years before their first full-term pregnancy, "the absolute risk is very small," said Dr. James R. Cerhan, from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

The pill ups early breast cancer risk slightly

Dr. Chris Kahlenborn, from Altoona Hospital in Pennsylvania, noted in the paper that the rate of breast cancer in premenopausal women has increased noticeably in the last few decades. While more studies are needed, the team concluded that oral contraceptives are carcinogenic; the conclusion is supported by the World Health Organization's recent classification of oral contraceptives as being a group 1 carcinogen.