Women on menopause therapy more likely to develop advanced cancer, study says
Women undergoing hormone therapy for the symptoms of menopause face an increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer or dying of the disease, according to the results of an 11-year study.
Women taking a hormone therapy that uses a combination of estrogen and progestin were 1.25 times more likely to develop invasive breast cancer, and two times more likely to die from breast cancer, than women who took a placebo over the study period.
The study is a follow-up of participants in the Women's Health Initiative, which consisted of several clinical trials involving more than 100,000 women. In 2002, a trial looking at the effects of estrogen and progestin therapy was stopped after 5 and a half years, when researchers found the treatment increased the risk of invasive breast cancer by about 25 percent.
The new study was able to look at the effect of hormone therapy over a longer time period, and was the first to look at a woman's risk of dying from breast cancer.
The findings suggest women taking these hormones should closely follow the current recommendation, which is to use the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time, said study researcher Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif.
Women might also want to think about stopping the therapy after a year or two, to see if their menopause symptoms have diminished, he said.
"I think this data suggests that maybe they should more aggressively consider stopping after some period of time, and see if they still need the treatment, because their symptoms related to the onset of menopause may have gotten better," Chlebowski said.
More serious breast cancers
About 83 percent of the participants in the original Women's Health Initiative hormone therapy trial, or 12,788 women, were followed for five years after the trial was stopped.
After this 11-year period, 385 women taking the hormones developed invasive breast cancer, compared with 293 taking the placebo.
Women taking the hormones were also more likely to have an advanced-stage cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes; 81 women on the hormones developed an advanced cancer, while 43 women on the placebo did.
When it comes to video games, some people don’t let anything stand between them and a high score. Not even bystanders, it seems, who are turning out to be the collateral damage in the quest for video game greatness.
And a total of 25 women died from breast cancer after taking the hormones, compared with 12 women taking the placebo. This means that for every 10,000 women taking the therapy, 2.6 would die from breast cancer per year, compared with 1.3 deaths per year among those not taking the therapy, the researchers said.
The results counter the suggestion from some previous findings that breast cancers arising in women taking estrogen and progestin would be less serious and less likely to result in death than in women not taking these hormones, Chlebowski said.
Breast tissue responds to hormones, such as those that trigger milk production after pregnancy. Hormone therapy may contribute to the development of breast cancer by exaggerating or accelerating a normal response, Chlebowski said.
The hormones may also interfere with breast cancer detection, keeping the cancer from being found until it has reached a more advanced stage, he said. In a previous study, Chlebowski and his colleagues found mammograms were less able to detect breast cancers in women taking hormone therapy.
"The cancers were kind of hiding in the breast and getting larger, but they weren’t able to be detected," Chlebowski said.
After many postmenopausal women in the United States stopped taking estrogen and progestin hormones, there was a decrease in cases of breast cancer in the country, the researchers said, and their results suggest even fewer deaths due to breast cancer can be expected in the future.
The new study will be published tomorrow (Oct. 20) in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Comments
-
Me Too!crselby said:the domino effect of HRT
That would be me. I took HRT for 4.5 years to try to live with hot flashes. What I have to live with now is being a breast cancer veteran, and polyps from the Tamoxifen. Wish I'd had a crystal ball: no HRT for me!
~~Connie~~
When I started taking HRT it was supposedly the answer to a woman's prayers. Helped prevent heart disease, osteoperosis, colon cancer plus it was the wonder drug for all those nasty little menopause symptoms. And now look where we are. Now I'm wondering about the osteoperosis drugs and the side effects. I'm on the verge of that disease ( guess the HRT didn't work so well for that issue either)and I'm very reluctant to start taking any of those drugs as it's starting to seem like deja vu in light of what we now know about HRT. I sure would like a crystal ball too!
Hugs, Sally0 -
i have some questions on this regarding hormones ladies!!
I have a few questions on this new development that maybe some of you can help me shed some light on. I've read the developing news on this & have seen quite a few reports on the news over the last few days. I am VERY uneducated when it comes to HRT, hormones & their role in breast cancer (i'm triple neg and pre-menopausal, so I have no hormon drugs that i am or will be taking). But when they are discussing how hormone replacement therapies can cause or contribute to breast cancer, or to more aggressive breast cancers, it makes me wonder about birth control pills. Now, I got on the pill at age 15, and was on it for 10+ years. Of course when I started taking it I did not pay attention to any warnings or future side effects that may have been mentioned to me, and I haven't really started researching this.
I guess my queation is does taking birth control pills, since they are hormones, also indicate an increased risk for breast cancer? This struck me last night as I was watching the nightly news & watching the story. Being the mother of 2 young girls, this is something that gets me thinking. Obviously we want our young women to be responsible & to be able to prevent pregnancies until they are ready for parenthood (thank God this is one of the few things that i actually listened to my mother about when i was a teenager!), but with myself and my mother having had breast cancer, obviously my own daughters are now at a significantly increased risk of developing it themselves, possibly at an earlier age since I was 34 at diagnosis. Learning to do self exams, and being adcovaces for their own health is already something they (well at least my 9 yr old) is learning about, I'm just wondering if avoiding hormonal birth control options will be something else in their future they will need to consider.
Thanks in advance for your input & information!
*hugs*
Heather0 -
HeatherHeatherbelle said:i have some questions on this regarding hormones ladies!!
I have a few questions on this new development that maybe some of you can help me shed some light on. I've read the developing news on this & have seen quite a few reports on the news over the last few days. I am VERY uneducated when it comes to HRT, hormones & their role in breast cancer (i'm triple neg and pre-menopausal, so I have no hormon drugs that i am or will be taking). But when they are discussing how hormone replacement therapies can cause or contribute to breast cancer, or to more aggressive breast cancers, it makes me wonder about birth control pills. Now, I got on the pill at age 15, and was on it for 10+ years. Of course when I started taking it I did not pay attention to any warnings or future side effects that may have been mentioned to me, and I haven't really started researching this.
I guess my queation is does taking birth control pills, since they are hormones, also indicate an increased risk for breast cancer? This struck me last night as I was watching the nightly news & watching the story. Being the mother of 2 young girls, this is something that gets me thinking. Obviously we want our young women to be responsible & to be able to prevent pregnancies until they are ready for parenthood (thank God this is one of the few things that i actually listened to my mother about when i was a teenager!), but with myself and my mother having had breast cancer, obviously my own daughters are now at a significantly increased risk of developing it themselves, possibly at an earlier age since I was 34 at diagnosis. Learning to do self exams, and being adcovaces for their own health is already something they (well at least my 9 yr old) is learning about, I'm just wondering if avoiding hormonal birth control options will be something else in their future they will need to consider.
Thanks in advance for your input & information!
*hugs*
Heather
Good question! I was on birth control pills for many, many years for both avoiding pregnancy and also to control my heavy periods. Hope someone can shed some light on this aspect of HRT.
Patti0 -
Birth Control Pills/Hormone Theraphypattimc said:Heather
Good question! I was on birth control pills for many, many years for both avoiding pregnancy and also to control my heavy periods. Hope someone can shed some light on this aspect of HRT.
Patti
Well, here is my input on the subject. I was among the first generation to be offered the birth control pill (back in 1963), and took them religiously for ten years. The thought did go through my mind if by taking these pills would it extend my ovulation time by the same number of years that I took the pill. However, it was "the thing to do" back then, and we weren't thinking about anything other than preventing unwanted pregnancy. I went through memopause at an acceptable age (early 50's), so I don't think it extended my pre-menopausal time period. When I did start to go through menopause, my ob/gyn recommended hormone theraphy (Prempro), which I took for one year. The first mammogram I took after starting Prempro, I had calcifications in one breast, which they removed surgically...no sign of cancer. I stopped taking the hormone theraphy immediately, and a year later the b/c tumor was growing. It wasn't actually diagnosed until January 2008 (missed by a radiologist three years in a row....film to prove this). Anyway, my thoughts on the effects of taking birth control pills, combined with taking Prempro for a year when I started menopause, leaves me to believe that the combination of these has some influence on my breast cancer development. Is there a better way to advise young women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnance, and is there a better method for women to get through the menopause phase of their life? Sounds like science has now proven that these artificial means of preventing pregnancy, and treating menopause symptoms has caused us more problems, rather than make our lives easier. Hindsight is sure better than foresight when it comes to knowing the outcome of following doctors orders. However, for today's generation, I would really stress to think hard and strong about using pills to solve these two situations, and look for a natural way to prevent unwanted illness in your later life. If only we could go back and do things differently. Hugs, Judy0 -
Heather I have two daughterscreampuff91344 said:Birth Control Pills/Hormone Theraphy
Well, here is my input on the subject. I was among the first generation to be offered the birth control pill (back in 1963), and took them religiously for ten years. The thought did go through my mind if by taking these pills would it extend my ovulation time by the same number of years that I took the pill. However, it was "the thing to do" back then, and we weren't thinking about anything other than preventing unwanted pregnancy. I went through memopause at an acceptable age (early 50's), so I don't think it extended my pre-menopausal time period. When I did start to go through menopause, my ob/gyn recommended hormone theraphy (Prempro), which I took for one year. The first mammogram I took after starting Prempro, I had calcifications in one breast, which they removed surgically...no sign of cancer. I stopped taking the hormone theraphy immediately, and a year later the b/c tumor was growing. It wasn't actually diagnosed until January 2008 (missed by a radiologist three years in a row....film to prove this). Anyway, my thoughts on the effects of taking birth control pills, combined with taking Prempro for a year when I started menopause, leaves me to believe that the combination of these has some influence on my breast cancer development. Is there a better way to advise young women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnance, and is there a better method for women to get through the menopause phase of their life? Sounds like science has now proven that these artificial means of preventing pregnancy, and treating menopause symptoms has caused us more problems, rather than make our lives easier. Hindsight is sure better than foresight when it comes to knowing the outcome of following doctors orders. However, for today's generation, I would really stress to think hard and strong about using pills to solve these two situations, and look for a natural way to prevent unwanted illness in your later life. If only we could go back and do things differently. Hugs, Judy
Heather I have two daughters as well. I wonder about this as well. My youngest has irregular periods, (thankfully getting better) and I dont want her on BCP. However I wonder what the effects of having irregular periods/hormonal emblance does too. I got diagnosed the first time around pregnancy too. I took BCP for 8 months they made me crazy, and I took clomid for the first kid??? I think its all different in all people. But I want my girls to avoid BCP for now. BTW i have a friend whose mom died of BC young and my friend had treatment for infertility treatments for her twins and has been fine. I think I inherited a gene from my dad's side, (not discovered) and interestingly enough the daughters of those people have been ok too. Lucky me. (glad about them)0 -
Guinea pigs for the drug companies
The Susan B. Love Army of Women website is looking for people for studies. One study is about whether or not you took birth control pills. The current research says, if you've been off them for more than 6 years, any effect they had on your body is gone. Like your lungs repairing themselves once you quit smoking. Oh, but wait, don't former smokers still have a higher rate of lung cancer than never-smoked people? Hmmm.
Like Judy, I took the first, heavy doses of birth control pills, for 6 years. Preventing pregnancy was the first priority. Just as with hormone replacement 25 years later was meant to reduce heart disease, prevent osteoporosis, and maintain sanity by avoiding menopause symptoms. Well, that worked out really well.....
Now we're giving our daughters vaccines to prevent HPV infections because it is a the most prevelent sexually transmitted disease. (60 to 80% of sexually active people have it.) I am 59 and just found out I have it and it is making the cells on my cervix turn cancerous. According to my oncologist this is no big deal because the cervix and uterus can be cut out of me if the other treatments don't work. So why mess with a new vaccine with unproven long term effects if cervical cancer is so easily dealt with (if caught early enough)? Seems education on this topic would be simpler. And cheaper. (Oh wait, no one would make money off of that....)
Do you get the feeling that the FDA has not done enough to protect women from being live guinea pigs for the drug companies? I'm quite sure of it.
Wow, sorry for the vinegar and sarcasm in all that above. Guess I need an attitude adjustment. ("Now, where's my Effexor?")
~~Connie~~0 -
Not only do I wonder about the safe use of the pharmaceuticals,carkris said:Heather I have two daughters
Heather I have two daughters as well. I wonder about this as well. My youngest has irregular periods, (thankfully getting better) and I dont want her on BCP. However I wonder what the effects of having irregular periods/hormonal emblance does too. I got diagnosed the first time around pregnancy too. I took BCP for 8 months they made me crazy, and I took clomid for the first kid??? I think its all different in all people. But I want my girls to avoid BCP for now. BTW i have a friend whose mom died of BC young and my friend had treatment for infertility treatments for her twins and has been fine. I think I inherited a gene from my dad's side, (not discovered) and interestingly enough the daughters of those people have been ok too. Lucky me. (glad about them)
but, I took the "much safer" bioidentical hormones (estrogen/progestin combo) for a year and a half to combat the side effects of menopause. Low and behold, the next year, I wind up with invasive ductal carcinoma, Stage 3C, with 10 positive lymph nodes. Now I know that cancer can come from alot of different entities, but sort of makes me wonder. I wasn't obese, ate well, had a good exercise program in place, no family history of breast cancer, didn't smoke, drank in moderation.
In my humble opinion, Bioidentical hormones--safer than pharmaceutical hormones? BALONEY! (and yes, I did capitalize that word for a reason!)
Hugs, Renee0 -
Trith of the Matter....
In my humble opinion.......they have no clue as to what causes BC........I took Premarin for 4 years....sailed through menopause...developed triple negative bc last year......well, being triple negative my bc is not estrogen driven.......My physicians have said Premarin did NOT cause my bc.....since it is not estrogen driven.....so where does that leave me? I have racked my brain for a cause......finally my oncologist said....."You have to let it go, we do not know what causes it.....if we did, we could prevent it....best we have now is to try and "cure" it", which is a word my physicians do not use......they say I am in remission. I,personally believe, bc and most cancers are due to the enviornment, food, genetics, etc. So what do we do? We do the best we can.......
Peace be with you0 -
I
suffered from severe hot flashes and weight gain. Perimenopause started at age 45 and at 50 I was menopausal. My hot flashes were frequent and dibilitating! My hair would actually drip because it was so wet. I wanted to rip my clothes off and would stick my head in the freezer. I also quit a 38 year smoking habit and gained 80+ #s. I was miserable but I had 2 sisters who had already been dx with bc. I went to my gyn in tears and told him I just cry all the time. So, with caution he prescribed low dose FEM HRT for me. I tried weening several times but the hot flashes came back with a vengeance. Last July I saw a naturapathic dr and stopped the Fem HRT and started all natural plant estrogen called Phyto B. It worked well until I was dx with invasive bc in May 2010. I'm the 5th in my family so who knows what actually caused mine. It may have been a combination of weight gain, family history and the HRT. Since chemo my hot flashes have actually lessened but can still be intense. I'm now 61 and wonder if and when they'll ever stop. Living with the consequences one way or another.
Char0 -
Here is a link to info ofHeatherbelle said:i have some questions on this regarding hormones ladies!!
I have a few questions on this new development that maybe some of you can help me shed some light on. I've read the developing news on this & have seen quite a few reports on the news over the last few days. I am VERY uneducated when it comes to HRT, hormones & their role in breast cancer (i'm triple neg and pre-menopausal, so I have no hormon drugs that i am or will be taking). But when they are discussing how hormone replacement therapies can cause or contribute to breast cancer, or to more aggressive breast cancers, it makes me wonder about birth control pills. Now, I got on the pill at age 15, and was on it for 10+ years. Of course when I started taking it I did not pay attention to any warnings or future side effects that may have been mentioned to me, and I haven't really started researching this.
I guess my queation is does taking birth control pills, since they are hormones, also indicate an increased risk for breast cancer? This struck me last night as I was watching the nightly news & watching the story. Being the mother of 2 young girls, this is something that gets me thinking. Obviously we want our young women to be responsible & to be able to prevent pregnancies until they are ready for parenthood (thank God this is one of the few things that i actually listened to my mother about when i was a teenager!), but with myself and my mother having had breast cancer, obviously my own daughters are now at a significantly increased risk of developing it themselves, possibly at an earlier age since I was 34 at diagnosis. Learning to do self exams, and being adcovaces for their own health is already something they (well at least my 9 yr old) is learning about, I'm just wondering if avoiding hormonal birth control options will be something else in their future they will need to consider.
Thanks in advance for your input & information!
*hugs*
Heather
Here is a link to info of breast cancer risk:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives
I never took the hormone pills to stop hot flashes. Had not started menopause yet.0
Discussion Boards
- All Discussion Boards
- 6 CSN Information
- 6 Welcome to CSN
- 121.2K Cancer specific
- 2.8K Anal Cancer
- 440 Bladder Cancer
- 306 Bone Cancers
- 1.6K Brain Cancer
- 28.4K Breast Cancer
- 391 Childhood Cancers
- 27.9K Colorectal Cancer
- 4.6K Esophageal Cancer
- 1.2K Gynecological Cancers (other than ovarian and uterine)
- 12.9K Head and Neck Cancer
- 6.3K Kidney Cancer
- 666 Leukemia
- 789 Liver Cancer
- 4.1K Lung Cancer
- 5.1K Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin)
- 235 Multiple Myeloma
- 7.1K Ovarian Cancer
- 53 Pancreatic Cancer
- 486 Peritoneal Cancer
- 5.3K Prostate Cancer
- 1.2K Rare and Other Cancers
- 532 Sarcoma
- 718 Skin Cancer
- 647 Stomach Cancer
- 190 Testicular Cancer
- 1.5K Thyroid Cancer
- 5.8K Uterine/Endometrial Cancer
- 6.3K Lifestyle Discussion Boards