Oral Contraceptives and Benign Ovarian Tumors

Carolyn Westhoff, Julie A. Britton, Marilie D. Gammon, Tom Wright, Jennifer L. Kelsey
In: Obstetric and Gynecologic Survey · 2001 · vol. 56(1) , pp. 33–34 · doi:10.1097/00006254-200101000-00021 · W2123248671
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This case-control study found that oral contraceptive use, especially long-term use, is associated with a modest reduction in the risk of benign ovarian tumors, particularly endometrioma.

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Abstract

A reduced risk of ovarian malignancy that is increasingly evident over time has been documented in several studies of oral contraceptive (OC) users and has been related to the presumed inhibitory effects of OCs on ovarian activity, especially ovulation. Surprisingly, OC use reportedly protects against functional ovarian cysts as well as malignant tumors, but not benign tumors. This case-control study reexamined the relation between OC use and pathologically confirmed benign ovarian tumors in the New York City area during a 24-month period from 1992 through 1993. One hundred ninety-six women with serous adenoma, 176 with teratoma, 311 with endometrioma, and 65 with mucinous adenoma were interviewed to ascertain OC use, and matched control women were recruited through telephone screening using random-digit dialing. The two groups were similar in age and ethnicity/race; age ranged from 18 to 74 years. Use of OCs at any time correlated with a modest decline in the risk of benign ovarian tumors, with an odds ratio of 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-1.05). There was little change after adjusting for possible confounding factors. About three-fourths of OC use had taken place at least 5 years earlier; only a few participants were recent or current users. There was no indication of risk reduction in current users who had taken OCs for 1 to 24 months, but there was some suggestion of lower risk for longer-term current users. All types of tumor tended to occur less often with a longer duration of OC use. When the duration of OC use was examined as a continuous variable in months, a trend toward lower risk with increasing use was for the most part limited to women with endometrioma. Odds ratios could not be related to the estrogen dose. This case-control study suggests a modest but long-lasting reduction in the risk of benign ovarian tumors in women who use OCs, whether currently or in the past. Long-term users have the lowest risk, and the effect is most marked for endometrioma.

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endometrioma

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