Another dose of HRT advice

We wouldn t blame you for being confused by the latest headlines linking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to an increased risk of breast cancer. Back in 2002, a flawed interpretation of data from the Women s Health Initiative study first noted this association. Yet this year, new findings showed just the opposite: Menopausal women can ease their symptoms with hormone therapy without fear of additional risk. Now, another turn of the screw has been reported: Research presented last week at a cancer conference in Chicago suggests that long-term hormone replacement therapy can indeed increase a women s risk of breast cancer. But hold on: Most women still have no reason to worry.

The latest study, led by an oncologist at Brigham and Women s Hospital in Boston, followed the health of about 60,000 nurses and found that using any kind of hormone therapy for 10 years or more slightly raised the likelihood of a woman developing breast cancer. But the length of time in this study is an essential detail, since the most current guidelines recommend that hormone therapy last only from three to seven years.

This most recent study is important, because it gives us a better sense of when hormone replacement therapy becomes a risk, says ACSH s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. However, HRT is still the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms available and, provided a woman sticks to the recommended duration of treatment, there still appears to be very little risk involved. Furthermore, the benefits to bone health, in addition to the alleviation of uncomfortable menopausal symptoms, which can have a profoundly unpleasant effect on a woman s lifestyle and well-being, are well-documented.