Pill linked to breast cancer

Dr Haresh Thani

Mon, August 23, 2010 - 6:00 PM

For many women the pill has become the birth control method of choice. Many have often touted its ease and convenience, and it is thought to be relatively harmless.
But that may be about to change. According to a new study released on black women’s health from Boston University, black women who use the pill have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.
Women who had taken the pill within the past five years and whose use lasted for ten or more years had a 65 per cent greater risk for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) than among non-users.
This type of cancer is especially prevalent in women who are 45 years old and younger, it is very rare and difficult to treat. The majority of triple negative patients are black women.
Women with this type of cancer lack three hormone receptors known to fuel most breast cancer tumours: estrogen, progesterone and HER2. That’s why treating this form of cancer is so difficult. It doesn’t respond to hormone therapy. So the only way it can be treated is with chemotherapy.
Breast cancer is most often diagnosed in women over the age of 50, but cancers that occur in younger women tend to be more aggressive. It is the leading cancer killer among women between the ages of 20 and 59 in the United States.
“Studies have shown that if you’re taking the pill within ten years of menopause you increase your risk of developing breast cancer,” says Barbadian doctor Dr Haresh Thani. “That’s why we recommend that at 35 a woman should get off the pill.”
But Thani also asserts that there are other factors a woman should consider when assessing her breast cancer risk.
“The longer the time between a woman’s first period and her first pregnancy, the greater the risk for developing breast cancer,” Thani said. “A family history of breast cancer also increases one’s risk.
“There are a variety of prostate cancers that have the same gene as breast cancer, so when I take a person’s history I always inquire about prostate cancer in the family.”
According to Thani, there is one bright spot.
“Cancer rates in Barbados among post-menopausal women taking the pill have dropped significantly.” (SH-O)