Table of Contents
Introduction
Cervical cancer arises when cervix cells grow irregularly and spread deeper into the cervix and targets other tissues and organs within the body (Bosch & Lorincz, 2002). Recent studies have shown that women who have been taking oral contraceptives like birth control pills, can have an increased likelihood of obtaining cervical cancer. Long term use of contraceptives i.e. birth control pills in particular, have shown as a cofactor in many women over the years in contracting cancer (Vanakankovit & Taneepanichskul, 2008).
Women who have used oral contraceptives for about five or more years showed an increased risk of cervical cancer than women who never took birth control pills. When identified in the early stage, the five year survival rate for women with cervical cancer in the invasive form is about 90%. If cervical cancer cells migrate to neighboring organs or tissues, the five year rate of survival is around 57% (Green & Smith, 2003). The mechanism of birth control is to inhibit ovulation and alter the cervical mucus fluidity by thickening it to inhibit sperm dispersion (Herrera & Piña-Sánchez, 2015). There seems to be a direct correlation on the length of time a woman using oral contraceptives and the greater the risk of cervical cancer.
One particular study found a 10% increased risk for less than five years of using oral contraceptive , a 60% increased risk with a five to nine years of use, and a risk almost doubling with 10 or more years of use (Clifford & Smith, 2003). However, after women stop using oral contraceptives the risk of cervical cancer has been found to decline over time. Different groups of women are more likely than others to get cervical cancer. For example, women who smoke are at higher risk. This is due to their immune systems being weak at targeting and fighting the viruses (Curry & Krist, 2018). In this study, we are proposing a novel way that can decrease the chance of obtaining cervical cancer while still using birth control pills as a form of contraceptive.
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Aims and Objectives
The goal of this study is to try and find a mechanism that can inhibit the chance of getting cervical cancer while on birth control. We are designing this proposal to target women who do not want to discontinue their means of birth control but also not increase their likelihood of getting cervical cancer. Estrogen and progestin are the two main key hormones of birth control pills. Measuring their levels can help us find a way to decrease the chance of getting cervical cancer.
Design of study
30 female adult mice will be used in this test study to measure the effects progestin and estrogen which is found in birth control to measure whether reducing or increasing progestin and estrogen levels in birth control can reduce the risk of getting cervical cancer but, still can work as a functional mean of birth control. We will keep 15 adult female mice as control and 15 adult female mice as experimental. Each experimental adult female mice will be individually given birth control with different amounts of progestin and estrogen in it on a daily basis. Each month since birth control pills typically has a 4 week period before starting a new pack, the experimental female mice cervix cells will be extracted and observed to measure how the various amounts of progestin and estrogen affects the cervical cells of the cervix.
Literature Review
Previous research has been examined on the effects of birth control as being a causative agent in getting cervical cancer. Naturally occurring progestin and estrogen can arouse the development and growth of some cancers like cervical cancer (Erickson & Lees, 2016). Since birth control pills contain synthetic versions of these female hormones, they could potentially also increase the risk of getting cancer. In addition, oral contraceptives might escalate the risk of cervical cancer by altering the predisposition of cervical cells to persistent infection with human papilloma virus high risk cell type which, are the causative agents of nearly all cervical cancers (Morgan & Patti, 2011). Researchers have recommended various ways that oral contraceptives may lower the risks of some cancers like breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers, but not essentially for cervical cancer (Green & Smith, 2003).
Scope and Limitations
Some restrictions on the experimental applications includes not being able to use female mice of ethnic background ,not being able to compare female smokers versus female nonsmokers taking birth control pills and also the length of time to see how taking birth control over a period of time can increase a women’s chance of actually getting cervical cancer. We can only conduct our experimental study on female mice in lieu of adult human females due to the nature of injecting our test subjects with various levels of progestin and estrogen. We are solely focusing on how birth control pills affect getting cervical cancer and excluding other forms of cancers. Our approach and experimental design is still a great way to measure the effects of progestin and estrogen levels and the correlation to cervical cancer but certain limitations won’t allow us to truly accurately find the answers it, only gives us a precise approach to our data.
Timeframe
This study should be completed within 1 year and receive conclusive results on the experiments of testing progestin and estrogen hormonal flux within the experimental female mice. In the year of research and findings, we should be able to see our results and based on such evidence and findings, be able to find a pathway of inhibiting a woman’s chance of getting cervical cancer but still can be on a functional form of oral contraceptive. The idea of finding an approach to the problem is study’s main objective.
Conclusion and Research Questions
At the end of the experiment, we hope to see that decreasing the amount of estrogen and progestin hormones in birth control pills, should decrease the risk factor of getting cervical cancer as well as still being able to be a functional form of oral contraceptive for women to use throughout their life or when they decide they want to discontinue the usage of it. In analyzing our data , some research questions may arise like, if decreasing the amount of hormones in birth control, can it ultimately knock out the risk of ever getting cervical cancer? If reducing the amount of hormones in birth control can reduce the risk of cervical cancer, can it increase the risk of getting another form of cancer i.e. breast or endometrial cancer? What are the possible side effects of this new approach? With ongoing research, we can be able to answer all of these questions to find possible solutions of linking cervical cancer to birth control pills.
My colleagues and I plan on dispersing on a thesis track, our experimental research and findings to review journals websites, who can be able to publish our findings for a relative low cost. It should take us about 4 months to analyze our findings and construct a publishable article on our results. We want to be able to spread our findings through social media via Facebook or any other website that people globally can be able to view and read our proposal. We want a widespread coverage of our scientific findings. It is imperative that we inform our peers and fellow citizens on this groundbreaking data. With recent studies and experiments, linking cervical cancer to birth control pills can be proven to go hand in hand.
