Personal Injury Law

Strongest Evidence Yet For Prempro-Breast Cancer Link

By Jamie G. Goldstein

A recent study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can increase the odds of breast cancer occurring in women. HRT is sometimes prescribed by doctors to alleviate the symptoms of menopause in women like hot flashes. Although previously linked to heart health, HRT is now linked to incidents of heart disease, blood clots, stroke, cardiac arrest, and even lung cancer. Although usage has declined in recent years, about15-20% of postmenopausal women are still engaged in HRT.

Oncologists now report that women taking the Pfizer drug Prempro (a combination of estrogen and progestin) were twice as likely to die from the cancer versus women taking a placebo pill. The study was the result of an 11 year follow-up on 16,000 women ages 50-79 that were part of a HRT study. The original study, conducted as part of the government-sponsered Women's Health Initiative, was halted prematurely due to outcroppings of breast cancer and other health concerns.

Perhaps most concerning about the study is that women taking HRT were not only more likely to develop breast cancer but also die as a result of the disease. Previous studies showed an increased risk, but for treatable tumors. Now, women who underwent HRT had a 25 percent increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer, 78 percent more likely to have cancer that spread to the lymph nodes, and twice as likely to be fatal. A possible reason for the increased risk is HRT made breast cancer harder to detect and therefore diagnose. Due to conflicting studies and these possible adverse effects, women considering undergoing HRT for menopause should balance the risks and benefits and investigate other possible forms of treatment to alleviate their symptoms.

Full post as published by Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer on October 28, 2010 (boomark / email).