13/02/2015

Research Suggests HRT Link To Ovarian Cancer

New research from the University of Oxford has found that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can increase the risk of ovarian cancer.

Professor Sir Richard Peto, leader researcher of the study, said they found an extra case for every 1,000 women taking the drugs for five years from the age of 50, and added claims that short courses of HRT were risk-free, "simply isn't true".

Currently women in the UK take HRT, which is used to alleviate symptoms of the menopause, for between two and five years.

The drugs are known to increase the risk of breast cancer, while also reducing the risk of osteoporosis and bowel cancers.

Their effect on ovarian cancer has always been debated.

Speaking about the study, which was published in the Lancet, Prof Peto, said that "about a million women in this country have HRT and 1,000 will get ovarian cancer from it".

However, according to a report by the BBC, the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said the research showed a "modest increase on a relatively uncommon cancer".

(MH/IT)

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