Study Finds Birth Control Contraceptives Linked to Higher Breast Cancer Risk

Breast cancer accounts for almost a third of all new cancers among women in the United States every year.

Prescription contraceptives for women sit on the counter of a drug store in Los Angeles on Aug. 1, 2011. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Females who use hormonal contraceptives such as birth control pills have a higher risk profile for developing breast cancer, according to an Oct. 30 peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Oncology.

The study examined data from 2,095,130 females in Sweden between the ages of 13 and 49 from 2006, who were followed up until the end of 2019. Individuals with prior cancers of the breast, ovaries, uterus, and cervix, as well as those who received infertility treatment or ovary removal surgeries, were excluded from the study.