In this week's PLoS Medicine, a case-control study conducted by Margaret Urban and colleagues at the National Health Laboratory Services in Johannesburg, South Africa, provides new estimates of the risk of specific cancers of the female reproductive system associated with use of injectable and oral contraceptives. The researchers report that use of these contraceptives is associated with a transiently increased risk of breast and cervical cancer, and that extended use is linked to a reduced risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer.
Funding: The NHLS/MRC Cancer Epidemiology Research Group at the National Health Laboratory Service is currently funded by the South African Medical Research Council and the (South African) National Health Laboratory Service; previous funding was received from the University of the Witwatersrand, CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa), and Cancer Research UK. The Cancer Epidemiology Research Unit at The Cancer Council NSW is funded in the main by The Cancer Council New South Wales. The Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit is supported by Cancer Research UK. EB and KC are supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Urban M, Banks E, Egger S, Canfell K, O'Connell D, et al. (2012) Injectable and Oral Contraceptive Use and Cancers of the Breast, Cervix, Ovary, and Endometrium in Black South African Women: Case–Control Study. PLoS Med 9(3): e1001182. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001182
CONTACT:
Margaret Urban
NHLS/MRC Cancer Epidemiology Research Group
National Health Laboratory Services
Johannesburg
South Africa
margaret.urban@nhls.ac.za
Journal
PLoS Medicine