--- title: IUDs May Protect Against Cervical Cancer description: The IUD, or intrauterine device, is a highly effective method of birth control, and now a new study reveals that it may be useful in... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7140508/iuds-may-protect-against-cervical-cancer/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2011-09-14T14:00:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T10:49:00.968Z article:section: Health og:title: IUDs May Protect Against Cervical Cancer og:description: The IUD, or intrauterine device, is a highly effective method of birth control, and now a new study reveals that it may be useful in... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7140508/iuds-may-protect-against-cervical-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28b9693d5e4b80c5/698a943be6e84a3f4a2b929a/iudcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: 10136322 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: IUDs May Protect Against Cervical Cancer twitter:description: The IUD, or intrauterine device, is a highly effective method of birth control, and now a new study reveals that it may be useful in... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28b9693d5e4b80c5/698a943be6e84a3f4a2b929a/iudcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # IUDs May Protect Against Cervical Cancer > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=4bb5d5cc-2e15-488e-aea2-0ef5adb307f6&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 14, 2011 2:00 PM UTC  IUD IUD Getty Images—(c) Abrams/lacagnina by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 14, 2011 2:00 PM UTC The IUD, or intrauterine device, is a highly effective method of birth control, and now a new study reveals that it may be useful in guarding against cervical cancer as well.more A research team from the Institut Català d’Oncologia in Barcelona, Spain, has [found](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2811%2970223-6/abstract) that women who used IUDs were about half as likely to develop cervical cancer as women who did not use the contraceptive devices. IUD users had a 44% lower risk of developing squamous-cell carcinoma and 54% lower risk of adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma — all common forms of the disease. Even the researchers were surprised by the findings. “The data (available) before we did this study were very inconsistent, so we didn’t expect to find such a strong association with this protective effect,” lead researcher Dr. Xavier Castellsagué [told](http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/13/us-cervical-cancer-idUSTRE78C4E020110913) Reuters. The study was based on data from 26 previous studies involving 20,000 women from 14 countries. The researchers found that while IUD use appeared to affect the risk of cervical cancer, it had no impact on women’s risk of contracting HPV, the virus that causes most cervical cancers. Rates of HPV were the same, whether women used an IUD or not. **MORE:** [Fact-Checking Michele Bachmann: Does the HPV Vaccine Cause Mental Retardation?](http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/13/vaccination-causes-mental-retardation-fact-checking-michele-bachmanns-claim/) Researchers speculated that there may be something about the IUD that prevents HPV from triggering cancer. [Reported](http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/womenshealth/story/2011-09-12/Study-IUDs-may-also-prevent-cervical-cancer/50373772/1) _USA Today_: --- > “” --- IUDs are small, plastic T-shaped devices that are inserted into the uterus. There are two types available in the U.S.: one uses copper, which is toxic to sperm, as a contraceptive; the other releases progestin, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone, to prevent pregnancy. The IUD is known for being low cost and highly effective, and because the device can stay in place for up to 10 years, it is a low-maintenance contraceptive choice. But there’s no reason that women who are worried about cervical cancer should have an IUD inserted. For one, the new study shows only an association between IUD use and lower risk of cancer; it does not prove that IUDs directly cause cancer prevention. More research is needed to confirm the benefit. Further, there are other effective ways already available to prevent cervical cancer, including the HPV vaccine, HPV testing and routine Pap tests. The new [research](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2811%2970223-6/abstract) appeared in _The Lancet_. **MORE:** [IUDs to Treat Endometrial Cancer and Preserve Fertility in Young Women](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/30/study-an-iud-may-treat-endometrial-cancer-and-preserve-fertility-in-young-women/) _Meredith Melnick is a reporter at_ TIME_. Find her on Twitter at_ [_@MeredithCM_](http://twitter.com/#%21/MeredithCM)_. You can also continue the discussion on_ TIME’s[_Facebook page_](http://www.facebook.com/time) _and on Twitter at_ [_@TIME_](http://twitter.com/#%21/TIME)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140508/iuds-may-protect-against-cervical-cancer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140508/iuds-may-protect-against-cervical-cancer/"},"headline":"IUDs May Protect Against Cervical Cancer","datePublished":"2011-09-14T14:00:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T10:49:00.968Z","description":"The IUD, or intrauterine device, is a highly effective method of birth control, and now a new study reveals that it may be useful in...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7140508/iuds-may-protect-against-cervical-cancer/","keywords":["HPV","IUD"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28b9693d5e4b80c5/698a943be6e84a3f4a2b929a/iudcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28b9693d5e4b80c5/698a943be6e84a3f4a2b929a/iudcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"10136322","caption":"10136322","creditText":"Getty Images—(c) Abrams/lacagnina","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140508/iuds-may-protect-against-cervical-cancer/","name":"IUDs May Protect Against Cervical Cancer"}}]}] ```