Tomáš Šálek
Women who rely on birth control pills or contraceptive devices which release hormones face a small but significant
increase in the risk for breast cancer, according to the results of the large Danish study. The study, in which 1.8 million
Danish women were observed for more than a decade. Modern hormonal contraceptives are assumed safer
for younger generations of women. Currently used hormonal contraceptives are much safer than those taken in the
past, which contained higher doses of oestrogen. The new study estimated that in each 100,000 women, hormonal
contraceptives cause 13 new cases of breast cancer a year. It means, in every 100,000 women using hormonal
birth control, there are 68 cases of breast cancer annually, compared with 55 cases a year among non-users.