Non-contraceptive benefits of oral contraceptives

Huber JC, Johannes C. Huber, Eva-Katrin Bentz, Bentz EK, Johannes Ott, Clemens Tempfer, Clemens B Tempfer
Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy · 2008 · vol. 9(13) , pp. 2317–2325 · doi:10.1517/14656566.9.13.2317 · PMID:18710356 · W2154947656
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⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

Oral contraceptives offer evidence-based non-contraceptive benefits including reduced cancer risk and improvements in conditions like endometriosis, menorrhagia, acne, and dysmenorrhea.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is increasing awareness of the opportunity that many contraceptive interventions may provide for additional health benefits. However, treatment of medical problems with oral contraceptives (OCs) is often an 'off-label' practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to summarize available data on non-contraceptive benefits of OCs. METHODS: Review of the literature. RESULTS: OCs have been shown to reduce the risk of ovarian, endometrial, and colorectal cancer. It has been suggested that OCs may be used in treatment of endometriosis, menorrhagia, and uterine leiomyomas. Pelvic inflammatory disease, dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome, and acne have been shown to improve under OCs. CONCLUSION: OCs are important for global and female health. Besides contraception, non-contraceptive effects of OCs are evidence based, well established, and commonly used in clinical practice.

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Condition tags

endometriosisdysmenorrhea

MeSH descriptors

Breast Diseases Contraceptives, Oral Uterine Neoplasms Acne Vulgaris Acne Vulgaris Breast Diseases Breast Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Colorectal Neoplasms Colorectal Neoplasms Contraceptives, Oral Endometrial Neoplasms Endometrial Neoplasms Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Leiomyoma Leiomyoma Menorrhagia

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (94)

Cited by (2)

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK