Abstract
Previous studies on the association of oral contraceptives (OC) use and lung cancer generated inconsistent findings. The aim of this study was to confirm any definite correlation between OC use and lung cancer risk. Publications were reviewed and obtained through PubMed and EMBASE databases literature search up to November, 2013. Reference lists from retrieved articles were also reviewed. The language of publication was restricted to English. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association by calculating pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 14 studies consisting of 9 case- control studies and 5 cohort studies were finally included in this meta-analysis. There was no significant association observed between OC use and lung cancer risk in the overall analysis (OR=0.91; 95% CI=0.81-1.03). There was a significant protective effect in Europe (OR=0.74; 95% CI=0.60-0.91) and a borderline significant protective effect with an adenocarcinoma histology (OR=0.90; 95% CI=0.80-1.01) in subgroup analyses. No association was observed for methodological quality of study, study design, smoking status and case number of study. This meta-analysis suggests that OC use is not likely to be associated with the risk of lung cancer at all. While a significant protective effect of OC use on lung cancer was observed in Europe, interpretation should be cautious because of the potential biases of low-quality studies. At the same time, more attention should be paid to the possible association of OC use with adenocarcinoma of lung. Our findings require further research, with well-conducted and large-scale epidemiological studies to confirm effects of OC use on lung cancer.
Highlights
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide (Edwards et al, 2005)
There was no significant association observed between oral contraceptives (OC) use and lung cancer risk in the overall analysis (OR=0.91; 95% confidence intervals (CIs)=0.81-1.03)
This meta-analysis suggests that OC use is not likely to be associated with the risk of lung cancer at all
Summary
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide (Edwards et al, 2005). A lot of studies found that female smokers have higher relative risks for lung cancer than male smokers (Brownson et al, 1992; Risch et al, 1993; Zang and Wynder, 1996). They speculated that sex hormones might influence the metabolism of tobacco carcinogens by cytochrome p450 in the liver (Zang and Wynder, 1996). Methods: Publications were reviewed and obtained through PubMed and EMBASE databases literature search up to November, 2013. There was no significant association observed between OC use and lung cancer risk in the overall analysis (OR=0.91; 95% CI=0.81-1.03). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that OC use is not likely to be associated with the risk of lung cancer at all. Our findings require further research, with well-conducted and large-scale epidemiological studies to confirm effects of OC use on lung cancer
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