ROCHESTER, Minn. — Patients who develop ovarian cancer appear to have better outcomes if they have a history of oral contraceptive use, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in a recent issue of the journal BMC Cancer.
“Multiple studies from a variety of sources have indicated that oral contraceptives are associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer, one of the most deadly cancers in women,” says Dr. Aminah Jatoi, an oncologist at Mayo Clinic and co-lead author of the study. “However, few studies have explored the connection between the pill and outcomes in patients who ultimately develop the disease.”
In their study, Jatoi and co-author Ellen L. Goode, an epidemiologist at Mayo Clinic, examined the outcomes of ovarian cancer patients who were seen at Mayo Clinic from 2000 through 2013. Each patient was given a risk factor questionnaire about prior oral contraceptive use. Of the 1,398 patients who completed the questionnaire, 827 responded that they had previously taken birth control pills.
The researchers performed two types of statistical analysis on clinical data extracted from the patients’ electronic health records. One analysis found that patients who had been on the pill had improved progression-free survival, the length of time patients lived with the disease without it worsening and improved survival, the length of time patients with the disease lived, compared to those who had not been on the pill.