Drug News
Hormone-linked elevated cancer risk persists
By Ben Wasserman
Mar 4, 2008 - 4:56:27 PM

TUESDAY MARCH 4, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Menopausal women who resort to hormone replacement therapy to ease their menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes may want to know this, an increased risk for certain cancers associated with hormone therapy remain nearly three years after they stopped the treatment.

An early analysis revealed that women in a major study who took estrogen and progesterone had elevated risk for breast cancer and heart disease among others, which prompted the federal funded Women's Health Initiative study to be terminated earlier than planned.

Many scientists and laymen alike would have thought that once the hormone treatment discontinues, the elevated cancer risk would disappear and treated women would have the same or similar cancer risk for women who did not use hormones.
 
The new study of more than 15,000 women aged 50 to 79 proved that that is not the case.

The results showed that the overall cancer risk 2.4 years after women quit hormone therapy was 24 percent higher than that for women who were not treated. The elevated risk for breast cancer after discontinuation of the treatment was 27 percent higher.  Also the women who used hormone therapy had a higher risk of lung cancer, which is another surprise.

The only benefit expected out of the hormone therapy, bone health, also disappeared after women quit taking hormones.  However, stoppage of hormone treatment somehow reduced the heart risk to the level for those who did not take the hormone treatment.

No one knows what risk the women treated with hormones will have to face afterwards.

The results from the current study seem to be shocking enough to irritate many in the medical industry who seemingly worried that postmenopausal women would be scared away from taking the hormone therapy.

Peter M. Ravdin from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center said of the study results "It's not convincing. All the epidemiological data argues against their results."  Ravdin early reported that incidence of breast cancer was on the decline after the hormone therapy was halted, a finding that others had different explanations.

Hugh S. Taylor of Yale University School of Medicine said, cited by news media, "It's a fairly small risk, and when women hear about this it plays to their fears. I think they are suffering needlessly because of an exaggerated risk."

A health observer affiliated with foodconsumer.org suggested that those women who are concerned about the safety of hormone therapy may try alternative ways.  Some studies found use of soybeans helps women ease menopausal symptoms.