The New England journal of medicine
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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has provided health, education, and welfare services since 1949. A team of physicians from Georgetown University visited UNRWA Health Centers and refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, as well as some affiliated hospitals. ⋯ Effective programs for health education, maternal and child health, and immunization have markedly improved the health of the refugees over the years of UNRWA's operation. The general health of the population is good, primarily as a result of wise emphasis on public health and preventive medicine measures.
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To investigate the effect of individual formulations of oral contraceptives on the risk of breast cancer in women, we analyzed case-control data from the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study of the Centers for Disease Control. The cases were 4711 women 20 to 54 years old with newly diagnosed breast cancer who were selected from eight population-based cancer registries. The controls were 4676 women selected by random-digit dialing of the population of each area covered by a registry. ⋯ Neither the type of estrogen nor the type of progestin contained in oral contraceptives used was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The duration of oral-contraceptive use and the time since last use did not influence the risk. These findings provide further support for the contention that oral-contraceptive use does not increase the risk of breast cancer in women.