title: Oral contraceptive use and survival in women with invasive breast cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral contraceptives (OC) are widely used in the United States. Although the relation between OC use and breast cancer incidence has been widely studied, the few studies examining associations between OC use prior to breast cancer diagnosis and survival are inconsistent.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women with invasive breast cancer participating in the Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (CARE) Study, a population-based case-control study (4565 women ages 35-64 years), and the California Teachers Study (CTS) cohort (3929 women ages 28-91 years) were followed for vital status. A total of 1,064 women died in the CARE Study (median follow-up, 8.6 years) and 523 died in the CTS (median follow-up, 6.1 years). Cox proportional hazards regression provided hazard rate ratio estimates [(relative risk, RR)] with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of death from any cause and from breast cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No association was observed for any OC use prior to diagnosis and all-cause mortality [CARE Study: RR = 1.01 (95% CI = 0.86-1.19); CTS: RR = 0.84 (95% CI = 0.67-1.05)]. A decreased risk of all-cause mortality was observed in the CTS among women with more than 10 years of OC use (RR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.47-0.96); however, no trend of decreasing risk with increasing OC duration was observed (P(trend) = 0.22), and no association was observed in the CARE study. No associations were observed for breast cancer-specific mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OC use is not associated with all-cause or breast cancer-specific mortality among women with invasive breast cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These 2 independent studies demonstrated no overall association between OC use and survival among women with breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Etiology, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA. yalu@coh.org
authors.forename: Yani
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Huiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Kathleen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.forename: Sandra A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sullivan-Halley
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Strom
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Polly A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Marchbanks
authors.forename: Jill A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Dee W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Katherine D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deapen
authors.forename: Giske
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ursin
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral