Hormonal IUDs can increase the risk of breast cancer, a new Danish study shows.
Now women approaching 40 are being urged to consider other options.
– I am convinced that we must take the risk seriously, says Lina Mørch, researcher at the Center for Cancer Research in Denmark and co-author of the study, to VG.
A new study from the Danish Center for Cancer Research that followed 100,000 women aged 15-49 shows links between breast cancer and the use of hormonal IUDs, reports VG.
Among 10,000 women who had the IUD for five years, there were 14 more who developed breast cancer compared to an equal group in which no one used the contraceptive.
– Hormonal IUDs increase the risk of breast cancer compared to women who do not use IUDs or other hormonal contraceptives, says Lina Mørch, co-author of the study, to the newspaper.
The prompt: Use copper coil
And the risk of breast cancer linked to the IUD increases the older you get. According to Mørch, the risk of being affected is small for younger women, but she urges those approaching 40 to consider other options.
– For women over 38, using a copper IUD can be a solution. This is when many women start using hormonal IUDs and it is also at that age that the risk of developing cancer increases.
“Must take the risk seriously”
The hormonal IUD should not be seen as the only reason for breast cancer, but the researchers ruled out other factors such as smoking, birth control pills and obesity.
Danish researchers have previously shown links between contraceptives with hormones and breast cancer, then this also applied to birth control pills, which Today’s medicine reported on 2017.
Lina Mørch underlines the seriousness of the new results.
– Our research now shows that hormonal IUDs can increase the risk of breast cancer. Therefore, I am convinced that we must take the risk seriously, says the senior researcher.