Is Hormone Therapy Linked to Breast Cancer Risk?

Understanding the Basics

Menopausal hormone therapy involves using estrogen, either alone or combined with progestin, to manage menopause symptoms. The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study found that combined estrogen-progestin therapy slightly increased breast cancer risk after about 3-4 years of use. However, estrogen-only therapy did not increase risk in the WHI study and may even lower risk with short-term use.

Putting the Risk in Perspective

While the increased risk sounds scary, it's important to understand the actual numbers. For women in their 50s using combined therapy for 5 years, there may be about 3 additional cases of breast cancer per 1000 women. For estrogen-only therapy, there may actually be 2.5 fewer cases per 1000 women. These small numbers show that for most women considering short-term use for menopause symptoms, the breast cancer risk is very low.

Factors That Affect Risk

Several factors can influence the breast cancer risk associated with hormone therapy. These include the type of hormone therapy (combined vs. estrogen-only), duration of use, and the type of progestin used. Some studies suggest that natural progesterone may have a lower risk than synthetic progestins. Women's individual health histories also play a role in determining their overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Takeaways

While hormone therapy can increase breast cancer risk, the absolute risk for most women considering short-term use is very small.

Related Articles

• How Does Hormone Therapy Affect Mammogram Results?
• Hormone Therapy Duration: How Long is Too Long?
• Estrogen vs. Estrogen-Progestin: Which Hormone Therapy is Safer?
• Who Should (and Shouldn't) Consider Hormone Therapy?

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