Birth Control and Breast Cancer Risk
Hormonal forms of birth control are popular because they can be highly effective and easy to use. For some people, they offer other health benefits, such as reducing PMS or endometriosis symptoms. But should you avoid hormonal contraception if you’re concerned about your risk for breast cancer? The answer might depend on your individual risk factors.
“It’s a very individualized decision,” says Erin Roesch, MD, associate staff breast medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. “Hormonal birth control has many benefits but can also carry some risks.”
What’s the link between birth control and breast cancer risk?
Hormonal types of birth control include the pill, patch, vaginal ring, implant, injections, and hormonal IUDs. They contain synthetic versions of the hormones estrogen and/or progesterone. Some contain both hormones, and some contain only progestin (the name for synthetic progesterone).
Hormonal forms of birth control prevent pregnancy by preventing the ovaries from releasing eggs and by changing the conditions in the uterus and cervix so that sperm cannot reach an egg.
The reason that using hormonal birth control could increase the risk of breast cancer is that the estrogen and progesterone that occur naturally in the body can help some types of breast cancer develop and grow. So the synthetic versions of these hormones in hormonal birth control could do the same.
What does the research show about birth control and breast cancer?
Studies show that there is a small increased risk of breast cancer among women who use hormonal contraceptives. Most of that research has focused on women who were taking contraceptive pills that contained a combination of estrogen and progestin. And some of those studies found that women who took contraceptive pills for longer periods of time (such as for more than 10 years) had a slightly higher risk than those who took them for shorter periods of time.
A 2024 study also found a slightly higher breast cancer risk in people who used hormonal IUDs containing the progestin levonorgestrel.
However, the change in risk found in these studies was small, and overall the risk of developing breast cancer from using hormonal birth control is quite low if you have an average risk for breast cancer.
Should you avoid hormonal birth control?
The short answer: It depends on your risk level.
If you’re trying to choose a birth control method that has the right mix of safety, reliability, and ease of use for your situation, it’s always a good idea to talk with your doctor.
Certain people will probably be advised to avoid hormonal birth control because they have specific factors that put them at greater risk for breast cancer, for example:
you have a BRCA1 gene mutation. A 2024 study showed that using any form of hormonal birth control increases their already elevated risk of developing breast cancer.
you’ve had a breast cancer diagnosis. Hormonal birth control is typically not recommended in this case because it may increase the risk of the cancer coming back (recurrence) or of developing a new breast cancer. This is true whether the diagnosis was hormone receptor-positive, hormone receptor-negative, or triple-negative breast cancer. While there hasn’t been much research on the effects of hormonal birth control use in people who’ve had breast cancer, most experts think the potential risks outweigh the benefits.
For others, knowing your unique risk for breast cancer can help you and your doctors decide if using hormonal birth control makes sense for you. To find out whether you’re at average, intermediate, or high risk for breast cancer, you can ask your primary care doctor or gynecologist to do a breast cancer risk assessment. You can also use online breast cancer risk calculators, but keep in mind that those aren’t a substitute for getting a risk assessment from a health care provider.
It’s also important to consider your family history and risk for other cancers. That’s because while some types of hormonal birth control can slightly raise your risk of breast cancer and cervical cancer, some types can lower your risk of endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and colorectal cancer.
Your health care team can talk with you about all the health benefits and risks of hormonal and non-hormonal birth control methods. And if you’re concerned about the slight increased risk for breast cancer from hormonal birth control, you could ask them about some other strategies:
Some research suggests that the risk of breast cancer begins to decrease when you stop taking hormonal birth control and can eventually return to normal. “I don’t think we have enough data to say exactly how many years should be the limit, but limiting the time you’re taking hormonal birth control could mitigate the slight increase in breast cancer risk,” says Roesch. (Keep in mind that your doctor may recommend this approach if you are at average or intermediate risk for breast cancer. If you’re at high risk or have had breast cancer in the past, your doctor may recommend that you avoid hormonal birth control altogether).
Consider condoms, a diaphragm and spermicide, or a non-hormonal IUD. “I often recommend a copper IUD to my patients who’ve had breast cancer because it’s one of the more effective non-hormonal birth control options,” says Roesch. If you’re certain you don’t want to get pregnant in the future, you can consider surgical birth control options such as tubal ligation or vasectomy.
Exercising regularly, limiting alcohol intake, quitting smoking, and eating a healthy diet can all help to lower your risk of breast cancer.
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Jun 25, 2021This content is made possible, in part, by Novartis, Lilly, and Pfizer.
— Last updated on September 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM