Assessment of Hormonal Changes Due to Contraception Pills as Risk Factor of Breast Cancer at Najaf city

Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease, and steroid hormones, especially estrogens and progesterone, are among the most important risk factors. Some conditions such as pregnancy, early menarche, late age at first full-term pregnancy, and use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), which increase the risk of estrogen exposure, also increase the risk of breast cancer. This study aimed to evaluate OCP use–related hormonal changes as a risk factor for breast cancer in young women in Najaf.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 breast cancer patients and 25 healthy women between January and June 2021 at Al-Sader Teaching Hospital and the Middle Euphrates Cancer Center in Najaf city, Iraq. After obtaining written informed consent, the researchers drew 5 ml of venous blood from each participant and analyzed the samples using the cobas® e 411 analyzer. Estrogen and progesterone serum levels were measured to evaluate the relationship between the use of OCPs and breast cancer.

The mean serum level of estrogen in breast cancer patients with and without a history of OCP use (159.80 pg/ml 168.23 pg/ml, respectively) was significantly higher compared with the control group (95.48 pg/ml). The mean serum levels of progesterone in patients with and without a history of OCP use were 4.9 and 4.12 pg/ml, respectively, which in users was higher than in the control group (4.3 pg/ml, P = 0.01).

This study found that using OCPs was associated with a higher risk for breast cancer. This issue can be considered in health policies to control breast cancer incidence.