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Cervical Cancer: The Rising Tide (0) comments
By Francis Onwumere | Monday, August 11 2008 | Biotech
  
 A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report shows that there are about 500,000 cases of cervical cancer reported each year, with nearly 80 per cent occurring in developing countries. In Africa, reported cases are on the increase and by 2020 it will be the most common cancer among women and will account for 50 per cent of the deaths, says the global health agency. Could this disturbing trend be in tandem with the rising use of oral contraceptives (OCs) amongst women in those parts of the world?
OCs popularly known as “the pill” first became available in the developing world especially Africa in the early 1970s. The pill was made popular by its convenience and effectiveness in achieving birth control. However sufficient time has elapsed since its introduction and investigators have now been able to establish a correlation between cervical cancer and the use of OCs. Researchers from the International Agency on Cancer Research in Lyon, France, found that the risk of cervical cancer increased by more than 50% after five years of oral contraceptive use, and more than doubled after 10 years. The study was published in The Lancet (Vol. 361, No. 9364: 1159-1167).
In 2003, the WHO had commissioned scientists from the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) and the United Kingdom to review the evidence that birth control pills increase the risk of cervical cancer. The research, led by Jennifer Smith, PhD, re-analyzed 28 published studies of more than 12,000 women with cervical cancer. All these studies looked at the birth control pill use of the women with cervical cancer compared with that of women who didn’t have cervical cancer.
The IARC report showed that women who used the pill for less than five years had no increase in their risk of cervical cancer. But women who reported using birth control pills from five to 10 years had a 60% increase in their rate of cancer; women using the pill more than 10 years had a rate over twice that of women who didn’t use the pill. The research also showed that the risk fell after a woman was off birth control pills for more than eight years. But they confessed to being uncertain because there haven’t been enough studies.
Cervical cancer had ordinarily been known to be caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). The HPV strains that cause cervical cancer are sexually transmitted and very common. Some research suggested that women on birth control pills have a higher risk because they are more likely to have sexual relations and thus more likely to be infected with HPV. But, when the IARC researchers focused only on women who had HPV infection, the risk from birth control pills was still as high.
Currently, two types of OCs are available. The most common OC, usually called combined oral contraceptive, contains a combination of two artificially synthesised versions of the natural female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). The second type (mini pill) contains only a type of progesterone. Medical research has suggested that cervical cancer, and some other forms of cancer, depend on sex hormones for their development and growth.
In the wake of this revelation of a science gone wrong and the WHO statistics, what genuine options are available for families that need family planning? NaProTechnology comes to the rescue. Dr. Henrietta Williams a Lagos based NaProTechnologist explains “One of the applications of NaProTechnology is its use for a 99.5% effective method of avoiding pregnancy. This is better than the best oral contraceptive which is only about 92% effective, and NaproTechnology has no side effects because it does not involve the use of steroids which oral contraceptives are”.
Naprotechnology is based on the Creighton Model Fertility Care System developed at the Creighton University in the United States. This method is gaining wide-spread popularity in the wake of the complications involved with oral contraceptives and the like. Dr. Williams speaks on efforts to pass this vital knowledge to medical practitioners in Africa: “We have just initiated the first African Training Program in NaProTechnology of 10 doctors and 24 practitioners in Lagos, Nigeria. We have a directory of trained doctors and practitioners in Nigeria and worldwide for anyone who needs their services”.
Further Reading:
American Cancer Society, Cervical Cancer Linked to Birth Control Pills Long-term Users Show Increased Risk ,www.cancer.org
National Cancer Institute, Fact Sheet, www.cancer.gov
The Guardian, Sunday Magazine: Interview with Dr. Henrietta Williams, June 15, 2008, www.ngrguardiannews.com ,
Journal of Reproductive Medicine 1998. 495-502, Hilgers TW, Stanford, M.D.Creighton Model NaProEducation Technology for avoiding Pregnancy; Use Effectiveness.
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