No recurrence of breast cancer from hormone therapy

Some doctors warn women who have had breast cancer against hormone therapy during menopause. The reason for this are two studies from the 1990s, which had shown an increased risk of breast cancer recurring. A large Danish study gives the all-clear: Of 8,461 women who had not received hormone therapy before a breast cancer diagnosis, 1957 used vaginal estrogen therapy after diagnosis and 133 used hormone replacement therapy. There was no higher recurrence rate and no increased mortality observed in them than in the comparison group without hormone therapy.

Elizabeth Cathcart-Rake, who wrote an editorial on the study, said, “These results suggest that breast cancer survivors on tamoxifen with severe urogenital symptoms can receive vaginal estrogen therapy without increasing their risk of breast cancer recurrence.” cautioned that vaginal estrogen or hormone replacement therapies should continue to be used with caution when women are using other drugs belonging to the aromatase inhibitor class.

The study included data from Denmark’s National Prescribing Register of menopausal women diagnosed with estrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer between 1997 and 2004.

Which: DOI 10.1093/jnci/djac112

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