|
[top.htm] |
|
|
Post-Menopause Hormones And Breast Cancer Risks Compiled from reports by the Associated Press and Reuters Taking hormones after menopause does not increase the risk of breast cancer, except for some uncommon forms of the disease that are slow-growing and highly treatable, researchers said yesterday. Millions of women take hormones to ease the symptoms of menopause. The hormones are also known to reduce the risk of heart disease, brittle bones and possibly even mental decline. Some studies have indicated that women who take hormones -- specifically estrogen -- after menopause are more likely to develop breast cancer. This was the first hormone study to categorize cases of breast cancer on whether they were slow- or fast-growing. Susan M. Gapstur of Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and colleagues analyzed data on 37,105 subjects enrolled at ages 55 to 69 in the Iowa Women's Health Study. Over 11 years ending in 1996, a total of 1,520 cases of breast cancer developed among the women. Researchers report in today's Journal of the American Medical Association that women who used hormones for five years or less were 1.8 times more likely to have slow-growing, highly curable tumors than women who never took hormones. Those who had used hormones for more than five years were 2.6 times more likely to have the least-threatening tumors. |