A Danish study suggested that OC users who smoke are at particularly high risk of cervical cancer. This rimary health cetner in Nepal displays a wall painting near the entrance that promotes oral contraceptives. In many clinics worldwide, health care providers help clients choose the contraceptive method that best suits their individual needs. Therefore, asymptomatic cervical neoplasia may be detected earlier among OC users, and false positive diagnoses may be more common. In either case the result would be detection of more lesions in OC users, but not actually more lesions.
Cervical cancer develops slowly.
Invasive cancer apparently occurs at the end of a slow progression of pre-invasive lesions. Hypothetically, OC use could have an independent effect or act as a cofactor at any stage. Research needs to explore why some pre-invasive lesions progress while most regress, and what role, if any, OCs play in progression. Findings are mixed. Studies have not consistently controlled for sexual behavior, however.