oral contraceptive pill and fibroids

Last reviewed 01/2018

• evidence from Chiaffarino et al suggests at least a lack of association between the combined oral contraceptive and the risk of developing fibroids and a possible protective effect with long-term use
  
  
• Chiaffarino undertook a case-control study in Milan - cases were collected from referrals for surgery because of menorrhagia or echographic signs of large myomas; controls came from a similar catchment area admitted for acute non-gynaecological, hormonal or neoplastic reasons (controls with a confirmed or suspected history of uterine fibroids were excluded)
  
  
• the study revealed that women taking the pill had a significantly lower risk of fibroids which decreased with duration of use; women who had previously or never taken the pill had similar rates of development of fibroids; however pill use for less than a year showed an increased chance of fibroids; there was no association between risk of fibroids and time since stopping oral contraceptive use

A more recent study suggests that fibroids study should not be considered a contra-indication for OCs use.

Reference:

• British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1999; 106: 857-60.
• Qin J et al. Oral contraceptive use and uterine leiomyoma risk: a meta-analysis based on cohort and case-control studies. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2013 Jul;288(1):139-48.