Use of progestogen-only contraceptives has increased substantially in recent years, but information on their association with breast cancer risk was limited. In 2020, there were almost as many prescriptions issued in England for progestogen-only oral contraceptives as there were for combined oral contraceptives. The researchers analysed data from 9,498 women who developed invasive breast cancer between ages 20 to 49 and 18,171 closely-matched women without breast cancer who acted as controls. The data were used to calculate the strength of the association between use of each type of hormonal contraceptive and breast cancer risk. The study, 'Combined and progestagen-only hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk: A UK nested case–control study and meta-analysis', can be read in PLOS Medicine.
