Progestin May Provide Protection Against Ovarian Cancer.

NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Progestin may be the key to the development of a new strategy to protect women against ovarian cancer.

"I can foresee the development of various formulations of women wellness pills' appropriately tailored to a woman's age," Dr. Gus Rodriguez said at the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

Two studies presented at the meeting indicated that progestin, a key ingredient in the oral contraceptive pill, offers potent protection against ovarian cancer.

Researchers have already shown that women who take OCs for as little as 3 years can cut their ovarian cancer risk by as much as 50%. Researchers had attributed this protective effect in large part to the fact that OCs inhibit ovulation, which is believed to make the ovary more susceptible to cancer.

But the identification of progestin as the protective ingredient could mean exciting new possibilities for cancer prevention, he told this newspaper.

"The finding that we're identifying a specific component of the pill, the progestin, that's activating cancer-preventive pathways as dramatically as it is in the ovary opens the door for the development of a preventive strategy that's much more protective than the pill. If routine use of the pill can achieve this much protection, then we can develop drug formulations that will maximize this preventive effect and also benefit all ages of women, not just those on birth control," said Dr. Rodriguez of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

"Our findings suggest that chemopreventive agents could be designed to benefit older, postmenopausal women, one of the groups at greatest risk for ovarian cancer," added Dr. Joellen Schildkraut, also of the university.