A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms once again the link between hormone replacement therapy and an increased risk of breast cancer.

 

The number of women who use hormone replacement therapy to alleviate the discomforts of menopause (hot flashes, mood swings and night sweats) has decreased recently due to a number of studies revealing that the therapy is closely linked to a raise in the number of breast cancer diagnoses in the United States. The therapy, a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin, has also been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

 

The new study confirms previous findings, giving women one more reason to cease hormone replacement therapy even with the risk of experiencing classical symptoms of menopause.

 

“If you stop hormones, the risk of breast cancer [associated with hormone use] rapidly declines,” said Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, a medical oncologist at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical center and lead author of the study.

 

For the study, Dr. Chlebowski and his colleagues looked at data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial (more than 15,000 women were assigned to either a placebo or HRT) and an observational study in which more than 25,000 women were on HRT, and more than 16,000 were not. The WHI trial was halted early when patients on the hormones were diagnosed with cancer more often than those getting a placebo and had a higher chance of stroke and heart disease.

 

The new study found that hormone users’ breast cancer fell rapidly in the first two years after halting treatment, even though their screening mammogram rate didn’t change.

 

“This is certainly something for doctors and women to consider. After three years, women should discuss stopping hormone therapy with their doctor,” Dr. Chlebowski said.

 

Furthermore, the study found that women’s risk of contracting breast cancer almost doubles after five years of taking the hormones estrogen and progestin found in Wyeth’s Prempro or Premarin. For example, a woman with a history of breast cancer would normally have a 2 percent chance of contracting the disease, but after taking hormone therapy for five years, her risk would climb to 4 percent, “a chance some women might not be willing to take,” Dr. Chlebowski said.

 

Based on the findings of this study and other recent analyses, the researchers suggested that a woman can take hormone therapy to relieve postmenopausal symptoms for about two years without risking breast cancer, and not for five years as previously believed.

 

In 2005, about 18 million women were taking Wyeth’s Prempro and Premarin, a significant decrease from 61 million prescriptions written in 2001. It seems that more and more women choose to experience hot flashes, mood swings and other symptoms of menopause rather than having a stroke, heart attack or breast cancer.

 

In addition to that, Wyeth is facing about 8,700 legal actions from about 11,000 women all over the US who claim their breast cancer, stroke, heart attack, ovarian cancer or heart disease was caused by its hormone therapy.