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Intrauterine device use and endometrial cancer risk
S R Sturgeon1, L A Brinton, M L Berman
1Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA.
Background:
Because intrauterine devices (IUD) invoke acute and chronic inflammatory responses in the endometrium, it is possible that prolonged insertion of an IUD could induce endometrial cancer.
Methods:
We examined the relation between use of an IUD and endometrial cancer risk using data from a multicentre case-control study involving 405 endometrial cancer cases and 297 population controls.
Results:
A total of 20 (4.9%) cases and 34 (11.4%) controls reported any use of an IUD. After adjustment for potential confounders, IUD use was not associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer (RR = 0.56 for ever use; 95% CI: 0.3-1.0). Little reduction in risk was observed among women who last used an IUD within 10 years of the index date (RR = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.3-2.4) but risk was decreased among women who used an IUD in the more distant past (RR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.2-1.0). Risk did not vary consistently with number of years of IUD use or with years since first use. Risk was not increased among women who used inert devices (RR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.3-3.6) or those who used devices containing copper (RR = 1.08; 95% CI: 0.1-3.6).
Conclusion:
These data are reassuring in that they do not provide any evidence of an increased risk of endometrial cancer among women who have used IUD.