Various types of hormonal contraceptives slightly increase the risk of breast cancer in women, and among these drugs the progestogen-only formulation is increasingly being used, according to a new study published Tuesday.

The researchers who prepared the study pointed out the need to take into account the benefits of contraceptive methods, such as protecting those who take them from other types of cancer, when analyzing this limited increase in the risk of breast cancer.

Other studies have previously found that the risk of breast cancer increases as a result of taking combination contraceptives of progestin and estrogen together.

While the use of progestogen-only drugs has been increasing for years, not enough studies have yet addressed their effects on the risk of breast cancer.

The new study, published in the journal "Plus Medicine", found that taking combined progestogen-only contraceptives carries a similar risk of breast cancer as taking drugs that combine estrogen and progestogen.

The study indicated that women who use hormonal contraceptives face an increased risk of about 20 to 30% of developing breast cancer, regardless of the type of contraceptive (pills, IUD, implant, injection) or its combination (estrogen and progesterone together or progesterone only).

This rate was similar to what was mentioned in previous studies, including a large study dating back to 1996.

To illustrate what these results mean, the researchers calculated the number of additional cases of breast cancer, knowing that the risk of this disease increases with age.

Eight out of 1,000 women who took hormonal contraceptives for five years, between the ages of 16 and 20, developed breast cancer. As for the age group between 35 and 39 years, 265 women out of 100,000 were diagnosed with this type of cancer.

"No woman likes to hear that a drug will increase her risk of breast cancer," Gillian Reeves, a professor at the University of Oxford and one of the study's authors, said in a press conference, adding that "the risk that the study talked about is very small compared to the actual risk."

And she continued, "This risk should be considered in light of the benefits provided by hormonal contraceptives, as they not only contribute to controlling pregnancy, but oral contraceptives provide significant and long-term protection against other types of cancer in women, such as breast cancer." Endometriosis and ovarian cancer".

Likewise, the study confirmed, similar to other research work, that the increased risk of breast cancer associated with hormonal contraceptives decreases in the years after a woman stops taking these drugs.

Stephen Duffy, a professor at Queen Mary University of London who was not involved in the study, said that these results are "reassuring because the effect I talked about is limited."

The study was based on data about ten thousand women under fifty who developed breast cancer between 1996 and 2017 in the United Kingdom, where it is now common to use combined contraceptives of progestin only, at the expense of those composed of progestin and estrogen.

It is recommended to use contraceptives that contain progestin only for breastfeeding women, or for those who face, if they take combination drugs of estrogen and progesterone together, health risks such as cardiovascular disease, or for smokers over 35 years of age.

Gillian Reeves noted that among the "many factors" that explain the increase in the use of progestin-only contraceptives is the possibility that "women are taking these drugs in the later stages of their lives," and of course they meet these conditions more.