Pill 'can reduce cancer risk'

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Women who take the Pill can have up to a 12% lower risk of developing the disease, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.

But the same research also showed women who used the pill for more than eight years - a quarter of those in the study - had a significantly higher risk of developing cancer.

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen found those who took the contraceptive for shorter periods suffered from significantly lower rates of bowel and rectal cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer.

And up to 29% had a reduced risk of developing one of the main gynaecological cancers.

But those who took the pill for more than eight years had an increased risk of developing all forms of cancer, particularly cervical and central nervous system cancer.

Some previous studies have suggested earlier forms of the Pill - which was launched in 1961 - may have increased the risk of developing the disease.

Professor Phillip Hannaford of the University of Aberdeen, who helped carry out the research, said: "These results show that in this UK cohort the contraceptive pill was not associated with an overall increased risk of any cancer, indeed it may produce an important net public health gain.

"These findings will probably reassure most Pill users living in the UK and their doctors."

The research is one of the largest detailed studies of the Pill in the world.