Breast Cancer - Hormone Replacement Therapy

Double Hormone Replacement Therapy May Increase Breast Cancer Risk
Women who take both estrogen and progestin for symptoms of menopause may increase their risk for breast cancer.

While estrogen alone increases breast cancer risk by 1 percent for every year of use, adding progestin (synthetic derivatives of the hormone progesterone) increases the risk to 8 percent per year, according to a study of more than 46,000 women participating in the Harvard Nurses' Health Study.

Physicians originally began prescribing the combination to counteract the risk of uterine cancer associated with estrogen use alone. It has long been apparent that progestins do not block estrogen's breast cancer-promoting effect. These data suggest they may aggravate it.

"The commonly held belief that aging routinely requires pharmacological management has unfortunately led to neglect of diet and lifestyle as the primary means to achieve healthy aging," concludes Dr. Walter C. Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Schairer C, Lubin J, Troisi R, Sturgeon S, Brinton L, Hoover R. Menopausal estrogen and estrogen-progestin replacement therapy and breast cancer risk. JAMA. 2000;283:485-91.

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