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11/08/2003
HRT users at greater risk of breast cancer, says research
Some kinds of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have a much greater effect on a woman's risk of breast cancer than others, according to research published in the Lancet.
The Million Women Study, funded by Cancer Research UK, the NHS Breast Screening Programme and the Medical Research Council, has found that current and recent use of HRT increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer and that the risk goes up with duration of use.
Current users of all types of HRT, including oestrogen-only, combined oestrogen-progestagen and tibolone, are at increased risk of breast cancer compared with women who have never used HRT. But the risk is substantially greater for users of combined preparations of HRT than for women on the other types, the research indicated.
Scientists at the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit in Oxford analysed data from over one million women between the ages of 50 and 64.
Researchers found that post-menopausal women using combination HRT were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as non users (a 100% increase), while the risk increased by 45% among users of tibolone and by 30% among users of oestrogen-only HRT.
Professor Valerie Beral, Director of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, said: "We estimate that over the past decade use of HRT by UK women aged 50-64 has resulted in an extra 20,000 breast cancers, oestrogen-progestagen therapy accounting for 15,000 of these.
"Since our results show a substantially greater increase in breast cancer with combined HRT, women need to weigh the increased risk of breast cancer caused by the addition of progestagen against the lowered risk of uterine cancer."
(gmcg)
The Million Women Study, funded by Cancer Research UK, the NHS Breast Screening Programme and the Medical Research Council, has found that current and recent use of HRT increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer and that the risk goes up with duration of use.
Current users of all types of HRT, including oestrogen-only, combined oestrogen-progestagen and tibolone, are at increased risk of breast cancer compared with women who have never used HRT. But the risk is substantially greater for users of combined preparations of HRT than for women on the other types, the research indicated.
Scientists at the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit in Oxford analysed data from over one million women between the ages of 50 and 64.
Researchers found that post-menopausal women using combination HRT were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as non users (a 100% increase), while the risk increased by 45% among users of tibolone and by 30% among users of oestrogen-only HRT.
Professor Valerie Beral, Director of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, said: "We estimate that over the past decade use of HRT by UK women aged 50-64 has resulted in an extra 20,000 breast cancers, oestrogen-progestagen therapy accounting for 15,000 of these.
"Since our results show a substantially greater increase in breast cancer with combined HRT, women need to weigh the increased risk of breast cancer caused by the addition of progestagen against the lowered risk of uterine cancer."
(gmcg)
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HRT therapy can double breast cancer risk
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Breast cancer HRT risk lower than thought
A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer while taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) might be lower than previously thought, according to new research.
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30 September 2003
'Next big step' in breast cancer treatment launched
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'Next big step' in breast cancer treatment launched
Cancer Research UK scientists will today embark on the next big step towards preventing breast cancer with the launch of a major new trial called IBIS II. The 10-year study will test a new drug called anastrozole and involve 10,000 healthy women who are at an increased risk of the disease.
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