Dr. Chris Kahlenborn sent a letter to the editor almost 15 years ago to raise awareness of an epidemic of breast cancer and a risk factor that is not emphasized in Breast Cancer Campaigns. His Mayo Clinic Proceedings peer-reviewed meta-analysis report had been buried since its publication. He had been told to expect a LOT of calls from the media when his work came out. Crickets! NO ONE CALLED! Then came the 50th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Pill, which prompted Dr. Kahlenborn to write his letter to the editor, and to beg for help in getting the word out.
We believe that the time is NOW to step up and help Dr. Kahlenborn. Women deserve to know that contraceptive steroids (in pills, patches, vaginal rings, IUDs, or injectable forms) increase estrogen exposure and increase the risk of breast cancer. See current research: Contemporary Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer – PubMed
Combined and progestagen-only hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk: A UK nested case–control study and meta-analysis | PLOS Medicine
Read Dr Kahlenborn’s original letter:
The Pill after 50 Years: That Dirty Little Secret
Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the birth control pill in the United States. Newspapers and magazines around the country ran stories on this, mostly extolling the social and medical benefits of the pill. This theme was bolstered by a recent communiqué from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) which noted: “The pill remains one of the safest and most popular forms of contraception in the U.S.” (Office of Communications, ACOG, May 6, 2010)
I find it disturbing that after nearly 50 years, both the media and the medical establishment have failed to give a true airing to one of the pill’s most dangerous side effects; namely, that “dirty little secret.” What’s that? One need only check the Mayo Clinic Proceedings-the major medical publication of the Mayo Clinic-to find our little-known study, which showed that the pill increases the risk of premenopausal breast cancer substantially when taken at a young age (see Mayo Clinic Proceedings: October, 2006: available to the public on line). In October, 2006, we reviewed the medical literature and combined data in an analysis (referred to as a meta-analysis): we found that 21 out of 23 studies showed that using oral contraceptives prior to a woman’s first birth resulted in a 44% increased risk in premenopausal breast cancer. Our meta-analysis remains the most recent study in this area and updates the previously analysis (the Oxford-analysis published in 1996) which relied on older data with older women (two-thirds of whom were over age 45); unfortunately, the Oxford study continues to be quoted by ACOG, textbooks, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and most researchers and obstetricians, claiming that oral contraceptives carry little breast cancer risk especially ten years after last use.
I continue to be amazed at the discordance between the medical literature and public/medical awareness. To my dismay, after our meta-analysis was published, the Mayo Clinic sent out a press release to all major media in the country. The response?: ( ). The blank space between the parentheses is purposeful. Although our meta-analysis received scant internet coverage, almost no major media covered this study, which is shocking, given the fact that about 40,000 women in the U.S. get premenopausal breast cancer annually, oral contraceptives are an elective risk factor and our study is the most recent meta-analysis to date on the oral contraceptive-breast cancer link.
In addition to our meta-analysis, it’s important to note that the World Health Organization classified oral contraceptives as a Class I carcinogen in 2005 (ie, the most dangerous classification). Even more data has come forth recently in a paper by several researchers-one of whom is a major researcher of the National Cancer Institute-which not only cited our meta-analysis, but found that oral contraceptives increase the risk of triple-negative breast cancer in women under forty by 320 percent (triple-negative breast cancers are extremely aggressive) . (Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; April, 2009)
Few in the medical establishment or the public are aware of these data, or if they are, young women almost never hear about them. It’s been almost four years since the publication of our study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings; I am beginning to think that our study has been effectively “buried.” Breast cancer and the pill-that dirty little secret? Some day perhaps someone in the media and/or medical establishment will dust a little dirt off those pink ribbons and let young women hear all the facts so they can finally make truly informed decisions.
Chris Kahlenborn, MD
Dr. Chris Kahlenborn is a medical doctor, specializing in internal medicine. Dr. Kahlenborn graduated from Penn State Medical University in 1988 and has been researching the effects of oral contraceptives on women’s health for well over twenty years. He is the author of our best-selling pamphlets, What a Woman Should Know about Birth Control, The Pill and Breast Cancer, and Breast Cancer Risk from Abortion
Dr. Kahlenborn is the lead author of the Mayo Clinic Proceeding’s article cited above. He testified before the FDA in June, 2000 regarding the link between oral contraceptives and breast cancer
The Polycarp Research Institute Box 105 Enola, PA 17025 717-732-4904 Drchrisk@polycarp.org
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That Dirty Little Secret
Dr. Chris Kahlenborn sent a letter to the editor almost 15 years ago to raise awareness of an epidemic of breast cancer and a risk factor that is not emphasized in Breast Cancer Campaigns. His Mayo Clinic Proceedings peer-reviewed meta-analysis report had been buried since its publication. He had been told to expect a LOT of calls from the media when his work came out. Crickets! NO ONE CALLED! Then came the 50th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Pill, which prompted Dr. Kahlenborn to write his letter to the editor, and to beg for help in getting the word out.
We believe that the time is NOW to step up and help Dr. Kahlenborn. Women deserve to know that contraceptive steroids (in pills, patches, vaginal rings, IUDs, or injectable forms) increase estrogen exposure and increase the risk of breast cancer. See current research: Contemporary Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer – PubMed
Combined and progestagen-only hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk: A UK nested case–control study and meta-analysis | PLOS Medicine
Read Dr Kahlenborn’s original letter:
The Pill after 50 Years: That Dirty Little Secret
Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the birth control pill in the United States. Newspapers and magazines around the country ran stories on this, mostly extolling the social and medical benefits of the pill. This theme was bolstered by a recent communiqué from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) which noted: “The pill remains one of the safest and most popular forms of contraception in the U.S.” (Office of Communications, ACOG, May 6, 2010)
I find it disturbing that after nearly 50 years, both the media and the medical establishment have failed to give a true airing to one of the pill’s most dangerous side effects; namely, that “dirty little secret.” What’s that? One need only check the Mayo Clinic Proceedings-the major medical publication of the Mayo Clinic-to find our little-known study, which showed that the pill increases the risk of premenopausal breast cancer substantially when taken at a young age (see Mayo Clinic Proceedings: October, 2006: available to the public on line). In October, 2006, we reviewed the medical literature and combined data in an analysis (referred to as a meta-analysis): we found that 21 out of 23 studies showed that using oral contraceptives prior to a woman’s first birth resulted in a 44% increased risk in premenopausal breast cancer. Our meta-analysis remains the most recent study in this area and updates the previously analysis (the Oxford-analysis published in 1996) which relied on older data with older women (two-thirds of whom were over age 45); unfortunately, the Oxford study continues to be quoted by ACOG, textbooks, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and most researchers and obstetricians, claiming that oral contraceptives carry little breast cancer risk especially ten years after last use.
I continue to be amazed at the discordance between the medical literature and public/medical awareness. To my dismay, after our meta-analysis was published, the Mayo Clinic sent out a press release to all major media in the country. The response?: ( ). The blank space between the parentheses is purposeful. Although our meta-analysis received scant internet coverage, almost no major media covered this study, which is shocking, given the fact that about 40,000 women in the U.S. get premenopausal breast cancer annually, oral contraceptives are an elective risk factor and our study is the most recent meta-analysis to date on the oral contraceptive-breast cancer link.
In addition to our meta-analysis, it’s important to note that the World Health Organization classified oral contraceptives as a Class I carcinogen in 2005 (ie, the most dangerous classification). Even more data has come forth recently in a paper by several researchers-one of whom is a major researcher of the National Cancer Institute-which not only cited our meta-analysis, but found that oral contraceptives increase the risk of triple-negative breast cancer in women under forty by 320 percent (triple-negative breast cancers are extremely aggressive) . (Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; April, 2009)
Few in the medical establishment or the public are aware of these data, or if they are, young women almost never hear about them. It’s been almost four years since the publication of our study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings; I am beginning to think that our study has been effectively “buried.” Breast cancer and the pill-that dirty little secret? Some day perhaps someone in the media and/or medical establishment will dust a little dirt off those pink ribbons and let young women hear all the facts so they can finally make truly informed decisions.
Chris Kahlenborn, MD
Dr. Chris Kahlenborn is a medical doctor, specializing in internal medicine. Dr. Kahlenborn graduated from Penn State Medical University in 1988 and has been researching the effects of oral contraceptives on women’s health for well over twenty years. He is the author of our best-selling pamphlets, What a Woman Should Know about Birth Control, The Pill and Breast Cancer, and Breast Cancer Risk from Abortion
Dr. Kahlenborn is the lead author of the Mayo Clinic Proceeding’s article cited above. He testified before the FDA in June, 2000 regarding the link between oral contraceptives and breast cancer
The Polycarp Research Institute Box 105 Enola, PA 17025 717-732-4904 Drchrisk@polycarp.org
This entry was posted on Monday, November 25th, 2024 at 4:22 pm and is filed under News & Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.