Association between oral contraceptive use and pancreatic cancer risk: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

e16399 Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the most aggressive malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract, with limited modifiable risk factors identified to date. Understanding the role of exogenous hormones, such as oral contraceptives (OC), in PC development is critical, particularly given their widespread use among women of reproductive age. This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between OC use and the risk of developing PC. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for studies that compared PC risk between women who used oral contraceptives and non-users. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed, and statistical analyses were conducted using RStudio, version 4.4.1. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I² statistic, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. No significant association was observed between ever use of OC and PC risk, either in odds ratio analysis (OR 0.91; 95% CI [0.71–1.16]; P = 0.442; I² = 52%) or overall hazard ratio analysis (HR 1.04; 95% CI [0.82–1.33]; P = 0.733; I² = 55%). Subgroup analyses evaluating OC use duration showed no significant differences for ≤1 year (HR 1.14; 95% CI [0.85–1.53]; P = 0.376) or ≥10 years (HR 1.13; 95% CI [0.86–1.48]; P = 0.382). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that OC use may reduce the relative risk of PC. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore the mechanisms underlying this potential protective effect.