Associated Risk Between Use of Oral Contraceptive Pills and Three Types of Breast Cancer: ER+, ER-, and TN

Abstract

Around 9.5 million women between the ages of 15 and 44 use some form of oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptive pills typically consist of progestin and estrogens, synthetic versions of the hormones that a female-bodied person naturally produces and are used by many people for a various number of reasons; such reasons include regulating acne, controlling hormone production, and preventing pregnancy. One in eight women in the US is diagnosed with breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, and many of these cancers have hormone-related causes. However, there are three types of breast cancer specifically linked to the hormones that are found in oral contraceptive pills: estrogen receptor-positive, estrogen receptor-negative, and triple-negative. While the potential of oral contraceptive-related causes for these breast cancers have been studied at great length, researchers are often unable to confirm their finding of an associated risk between synthetic hormones in oral contraceptives and certain types of breast cancer. Many studies agree that this associated risk exists, but stress the need for more involved research with more detailed and specific objectives. This literature review will provide insight into limitations of current research on the associated risk between oral contraceptives and breast cancer in order to fill research gaps and evaluate the certainty of current findings.