To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Estrogen/Progestin HRT Seems To Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/15D9FE.htm Doctor's Guide January 25, 2000
CHICAGO, IL -- January 25, 2000 -- Women who are current or recent users of estrogen-progestin hormone replacement therapies (HRT) for treatment of menopause symptoms have a higher relative risk of breast cancer than women who only take estrogen, according to an article in the January 26 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Catherine Schairer, Ph.D., and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md., analyzed follow-up information from a subset of postmenopausal women (46,355) who participated in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project, a nationwide breast cancer screening program. The researchers compared the new cases of breast cancer with the type of hormone replacement therapy used for this group of women who had no previous evidence nor diagnosis of breast cancer. There were 2082 cases of breast cancer identified during the 1980 through 1995 follow-up period. "Our results suggest that the combined estrogen-progestin regimen is associated with greater increases in breast cancer risk than estrogen alone," the authors write. "Assessing the comparative risk of estrogen alone vs. estrogen-progestin was complicated by the fact that use of estrogen alone was associated with increased risk in lean but not heavy women. We found differences between the two regimens [estrogen-only and estrogen-progestin HRTs] among lean women but were unable to draw conclusions among heavier women." The researchers analyzed the data from follow-up questionnaires and interviews After adjusting for such factors as age at menopause, regularity of receiving mammography, education and age, they found that the relative risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer was 20 percent higher for those categorized as "recent users" (current use and past use occurring within the previous four years) of estrogen-only HRT compared to women who had never used HRT. Adjusting for the same variables, the relative risk was 40 percent higher for "recent users" of estrogen-progestin HRT compared to women who had never used HRT. The researchers found that for recent users of estrogen-only HRT the relative risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer rose by 1 percent for each year of its use, after adjusting for age at menopause, mammographic screening, body mass index, education and age. For recent users of estrogen-progestin HRT the relative risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer rose by 8 percent for each year of its use. Citing previous research the authors note: "In a recent collaborative reanalysis of more than 90 percent of the world's epidemiological data on the relationship between menopausal hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer risk, it was found that longer durations of recent, but not past, use of HRT increased breast cancer risk, particularly among leaner women and for tumors that were less clinically advanced." (JAMA. 2000;283:485-491) Related Links: HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.