Hormone therapy ups breast cancer risk

Prior findings had tied the most common form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which includes estrogen and progestin to a greater risk of breast cancer.

Researchers of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who studied about 60,000 women found that using any kind of female hormones even estrogen-only HRT for 10 years or more can slightly increase chances of developing breast cancer.

“There’s a continued increase in risk with longer durations of use and there does not appear to be a plateau,” said study leader Dr. Wendy Chen who presented her findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago.

“For combination therapy there is so much data about the dangers that we really tell people that if they must take it to treat symptoms, they should only do so for a year or two at most,” she added. “For estrogen alone, there is more safety data for someone who wants to take it for five or six years.”

Researchers recommended physicians and women to avoid unnecessary HRT and think carefully about why they are suggesting or using supplemental hormones.

SJM/TE

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