Pills linked to cervical cancer risk

A Belgian study found that use of oral contraceptives increased the risk of cervical cancer - but the risk fell 10 years after the women stopped taking the pills.

Some experts feared that this study may mislead the public that there is a direct link between cervical cancer and oral contraceptives. They said that the women on the pill may have more sexual activities and therefore more likely to be infected with HPV, but cervical cancer is only caused by HPV. Many doctors said that women should not stop taking them.


Source: "Cervical cancer and hormonal contraceptives: collaborative reanalysis of individual data for 16 573 women with cervical cancer and 35 509 women without cervical cancer from 24 epidemiological studies - International Collaboration of Epidemiological Studies of Cervical Cancer" The Lancet, vol 370; 9599, pp 1609-1621

HPV vaccine does not treat HPV

HPV (Human papillomavirus) is a very common virus, some types cause cervical cancer, some cause gential warts. There has been confusion about whether women who have been infected with HPV could benefit from vaccination.

A study of more than 2000 women who already have HPV infection in Costa Rica found that Cervarix, a cervical-cancer vaccines, did not clear the virus from the bodies of the HPV-infected women. The author suggested that the vaccine "should not be used for the purposes of treating prevalent infections" and shoud target young women prior to their sexual debut because the infection happens shortly after sexual initiation.

Read the free article "Effect of Human Papillomavirus 16/18 L1 Viruslike Particle Vaccine Among Young Women With Pre-existing Infection: A Randomized Trial" JAMA. 2007 (7) ;298:743-753. August 15.