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Oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormones did not affect bilateral breast cancer risk

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Neither contraceptive use nor postmenopausal hormone use increases the risk for contralateral breast cancer in women, according to recent study results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers from various sites in the United States conducted a population-based, case-controlled study — Women’s Environment, Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology (WECARE) — in women with both asynchronous bilateral (n=708) and unilateral (n=1,395) breast cancer.

The use of oral contraceptives, either before or after breast cancer diagnosis, was not significantly linked to risk. The RR before diagnosis was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.67 to 1.16) and after diagnosis, 1.56 (95% CI, 0.71 to 3.45).

As with oral contraceptives, researchers found no evidence of an increased risk with postmenopausal hormones, either before or after diagnosis. The RR before diagnosis was 1.21 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.61) and after, 1.10 (95% CI, 0.67 to 1.77).

Age at time of use and duration of use of oral contraceptives and postmenopausal hormones were not determinants of risk. – by Stacey L. Adams

J Clin Oncol. 2008;26:1411-1418.