By Nicole Ostrow - Tue Mar 06 23:30:00 GMT 2012 Estrogen, a hormone known to fuel breast cancer, may protect against the disease in some cases, according to a study that found the therapy reduced the risk in women who took it after a hysterectomy. The trial of 7,645 women showed that those on estrogen, sold as Premarin by Pfizer Inc. (PFE), for six years and then stopped were more than 20 percent less likely to develop breast cancer and die from the disease than those who never took the hormone therapy. The study is published online in the Lancet Oncology. The research draws from the Womens Health Initiative, a U.S.-sponsored study of disease and disability in postmenopausal women, and source of the 2002 findings that found women who took Pfizers Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin, for menopause symptoms, had a higher breast-cancer risk. Earlier studies had pointed to estrogen as raising that danger. Todays finding may help dispel confusion surrounding the hormone therapies, said Garnet Anderson, a study author. We have not done the greatest job of distinguishing between the hormone therapies, said Anderson, principal investigator of the Womens Health Initiative Clinical Coordinating Center based at Fred … Continue reading →

However, this new study, published in The Lancet Oncology, shows that a less commonly-used type - oestrogen-only - can actually reduce the risk in some women. American researchers examined data from 7,500 women aged 50 to 79 in a trial, who had undergone hysterectomy and had no family history of breast cancer. Half were given oestrogen-only HRT for about six years, and the other half a placebo. However, researchers who followed the volunteers for another six years found those on the HRT were 23 per cent less likely to have developed breast cancer, over 12 years. Garnet Anderson, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said the findings "should provide reassurance about breast safety of oestrogen use for durations of about 5 years for women with a hysterectomy seeking relief from postmenopausal symptoms". Several studies have linked combined HRT (oestrogen and progesterone) with increased rates of breast cancer, although these are increasingly disputed. No studies have definitively found oestrogen-only HRT causes breast cancer, said Dr John Stevenson, an menopause expert at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. He said about 100,000 women in Britain were now on oestrogen-only HRT, about a quarter of the total. Go here to … Continue reading →

A type of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) reserved for women without wombs protects against breast cancer long after treatment is stopped, a study has found. Scientists followed the progress of some 7,500 women who took oestrogen-only HRT for seven years and were monitored for a further 4.7 years. They were 23% less likely to have developed develop breast cancer than other women in the study who were given a "dummy" placebo treatment. Those in the HRT group who did develop the disease were also 63% less likely to die from their condition. Oestrogen-only HRT is known to be linked to cancer of the womb and for this reason only given to women who have undergone a hysterectomy. The more common form of HRT containing both oestrogen and the hormone progesterone has been said to increase breast cancer risk, although the claim is controversial. The new results, published online in The Lancet Oncology journal, come from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a major US study of post-menopausal women launched in 1993. They show that women who had oestrogen-only HRT for around seven years and then stopped continued to enjoy long-lasting protection against breast cancer. But the benefit had to be balanced … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES - Many women who used just estrogen as hormone replacement therapy after menopause had a lower risk of developing breast cancer up to five years after they stopped taking it, a study has found. The research, published Tuesday, adds another twist to the story on whether hormone replacement therapy helps some women beyond treating menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and poor sleep quality. The report follows a landmark Women's Health Initiative, a clinical trial of tens of thousands of women begun in 1993 that sought to clarify the risks of two hormone replacement therapies in postmenopausal women: estrogen plus progestin, and estrogen alone, taken by women who have had hysterectomies. The double-hormone arm of the study was halted abruptly in 2002 after scientists found that it raised the risk of breast cancer without conferring hoped-for benefits. In 2004, the estrogen-alone study was also halted after researchers discovered an increased risk of stroke and blood clots. At the time, it was not clear how estrogen alone affected breast cancer risk. But research since then found that estrogen alone did not increase risk and maybe even lowered it. The new study, published in Lancet Oncology, provides the strongest evidence … Continue reading →

(CBS/AP) Estrogen therapy, a type of hormone replacement therapy, has been linked to a greater risk for heart attack and breast cancer in women by previous research. A new study however shows women who take estrogen following menopause actually had a lower risk of breast cancer - even years after the study. Estrogen pills: Are health risks overblown? PICTURES: 25 breast cancer myths busted The new research found women who had a hysterectomy who took estrogen-only pills for about six years were about 20 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who didn't take the hormone, and the benefit lasted for at least five years. "If women are suffering from serious menopause symptoms and have had a hysterectomy, then estrogen alone is a reasonable approach," said study author Dr. Garnet Anderson, a professor of biostatistics at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Women have long been prescribed estrogen pills after a hysterectomy or to relieve hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, and the pills were once believed to be good for bones, the heart and have other health benefits. For the 12-year study, published online in March 7 issue of Lancet Oncology, researchers tracked more than … Continue reading →

Many women who used estrogen alone as hormone replacement therapy after menopause had a lower risk of developing breast cancer up to five years after they stopped taking it, a study has found. The research, published Tuesday, adds another twist to the evolving story on whether hormone replacement therapy helps some women beyond treating menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and poor sleep quality. The report is a follow-up analysis of the landmark Women's Health Initiative, a clinical trial of tens of thousands of women begun in 1993 that sought to clarify the risks and benefits of two hormone replacement therapy regimens in postmenopausal women: estrogen plus progestin, which most women must take, and estrogen alone, taken by women who have had hysterectomies. The double-hormone arm of the study was abruptly halted in 2002 after scientists found that it raised the risk of breast cancer without conferring hoped-for benefits on the heart. In 2004, the estrogen-alone arm of the study was also halted after researchers discovered an increased risk of stroke and blood clots. At the time, it was not clear how estrogen alone affected breast cancer risk. But research since then found that estrogen alone did not increase risk … Continue reading →

Perhaps if there were other really effective medications to treat menopausal symptoms people wouldn't care so much about the safety of hormone replacement therapy. But there aren't medications that work as well as estrogen alone (for women who have hysterectomies) or estrogen plus progestin (for those with a uterus) to stop hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, foggy thinking, vaginal dryness, mood swings and other problems that crop up for some women during the menopausal transition. That's why studies such as one released Tuesday that further clarify the safety of hormone replacement continue to remain of keen interest to women and their doctors. Researchers reported Tuesday that women who took estrogen alone had a decreased risk of breast cancer incidence and death up to five years after stopping the medication. Taking estrogen alone, however, is still linked to an increased risk of blood clots and stroke. And the decreased risk with estrogen use was not found among women who had an elevated risk for breast cancer due to family history or benign breast disease. The study is a follow-up of the Women's HealthInitiative, which examined the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy on many aspects of health and quality … Continue reading →

TUESDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- Some women who take estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy to stave off hot flashes, night sweats and other symptoms of menopause may be at lower risk for developing breast cancer down the road, a news study says. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) fell from grace rather dramatically after a large government-run trial, the U.S. Women's Health Initiative, was stopped early in 2002 because HRT was shown to increase the risk of strokes and breast and ovarian cancer. Since that time, however, some subtleties have emerged as researchers parsed the evidence further. For example, short-term use of HRT is now deemed fairly safe for some women who have severe menopausal symptoms. The new study shows that longer-term use of estrogen-only therapy may actually lower a woman's odds of developing breast cancer. Estrogen-only therapy is reserved for women who have had a hysterectomy; women with an intact uterus who use HRT must take the hormone progestin with estrogen to prevent uterine cancer. "Women who have had a hysterectomy may be reassured that taking estrogen by itself, short term, to relieve menopausal symptoms will not increase their risk of breast cancer," said study author Garnet Anderson of the Women's … Continue reading →