The findings, which indicate that the longer the pill is used the greater the reduction in risk, are based on a detailed re-analysis of all available evidence thus far.
Authors of the study estimate that approximately 400,000 cases of endometrial cancer, including 200,000 in the last ten years, have been prevented by oral contraceptive use.
Researchers from the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies on Endometrial Cancer, who collated data from almost 30,000 women with endometrial cancer, assert that the risk of endometrial cancer is reduced by a quarter for every five years of oral contraceptive use.
Pooling data from 36 studies conducted across the globe, researchers also ascertained that ten years of oral contraceptive use reduces the risk of developing endometrial cancer before the age of 75 from 2.3 to 1.3 per 100 cases.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Valerie Beal from the University of Oxford, said: "The strong protective effect of oral contraceptives against endometrial cancer – which persists for decades after stopping the pill – means that women who use it when they are in their 20s or even younger continue to benefit into their 50s and older, when cancer becomes more common."
Put simply, findings suggest that hormone levels in the contraceptive pill is sufficient to offer protection from cancer even after the woman ceases use, with Professor Beal asserting: "People used to worry that the pill might cause cancer, but in the long term the pill reduces the risk of getting cancer."
Elaborating on the findings, Vice President for Education at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London, Dr. Clare McKenzie, said: "This study provides robust evidence of how long this protective effect lasts after a woman stops taking the pill, as well as taking into account other possible risk factors such as smoking and obesity."
The research has been published in The Lancet Oncology journal.
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