Abstract
A case-control study was conducted in Los Angeles County, California, of 163 very young breast-cancer cases (all aged 32 or less at diagnosis) to investigate the role, if any, of oral contraceptives (OC) in the development of the disease. OC use before first full-term pregnancy (FFTP) was associated with an elevated risk, which increased with duration of OC use (relative risk approximately 2.2 at 6 years of use, P < 0.01). This increased risk could not be explained by other risk factors. OC use after FFTP was not associated with any change in risk. A first-trimester abortion before FFTP, whether spontaneous or induced, was associated with a 2.4-fold increase in breast-cancer risk (P < 0.005).
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Pike, M., Henderson, B., Casagrande, J. et al. Oral contraceptive use and early abortion as risk factors for breast cancer in young women. Br J Cancer 43, 72–76 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1981.10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1981.10
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