Oral contraceptive and breast cancer: do benefits outweigh the risks? A case - control study from Jordan

• Published in: BMC women's health 2019-06, Vol.19 (1), p.72-72, Article 72
• Main Authors: Bardaweel, Sanaa K, Akour, Amal A, Al-Muhaissen, Suha, AlSalamat, Husam A, Ammar, Khawlah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Analysis; Birth control; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - chemically induced; Breast Neoplasms - epidemiology; Cancer research; Case-Control Studies; Chi-square test; Complications and side effects; Contraception; Contraception - adverse effects; Contraception - methods; Contraceptives; Contraceptives, Oral - administration & dosage; Contraceptives, Oral - adverse effects; Contraceptives, Oral, Combined - adverse effects; Development and progression; Estradiol Congeners - adverse effects; Family medical history; Female; Females; Genetics; Health risk assessment; Hormone replacement therapy; Humans; Jordan; Menopause; Middle Aged; Observational studies; Oral contraceptives; Puberty; Risk Factors; Sexual Maturation; Women; Women's health; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1472-6874; 1472-6874
• DOI: 10.1186/s12905-019-0770-x

Oral contraceptives (OCs) use has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer (BC) in several reports from the world. Limited number of similar studies have been conducted in the Middle Eastern female population. This study aimed to explore any possible correlation between the contemporary and duration of OCs use among Jordanian women and the risk of breast cancer. A case control study was conducted in 450 Jordanian women (225 as cases and 225 as controls), aged 18 to 65. Chi-square test was used to study the association between risk of breast cancer and different factors. Mann Whitney-U test was employed to evaluate the relation between time-dependent risk factor and breast cancer. Our results indicated that regular use of OCs exhibited association with increased risk of breast cancer (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.34-2.79; p = 0.002), while the duration of OCs use was not associated with the increased risk of breast cancer (p > 0.05). In addition, other factors demonstrated significant association with the increased risk of breast cancer such as age at puberty, age at menopause, previous pregnancies, menopausal status, and family history of cancer. regular use of OCs may be associated with increased risk of breast cancer in Jordanian women. A larger sample size in multi-center setting study is required to confirm this finding among the Jordanian female population.