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Women
taking hormone replacement therapy after menopause may be
at a slightly increased risk of developing ovarian cancer,
according to researchers at Falu Hospital in Sweden. Patients
taking the drug for more than 10 years may be at the greatest
risk for the disease.
However,
the risk is modest and the decision to stop hormone replacement
therapy should be weighed against potential health benefits
of the treatment, according to the researchers.
Researchers
compared 655 women with ovarian cancer to 3,899 women without
the disease. The women were all between 50 and 74 years of
age. They were given questionnaires covering their history
of using hormone replacement therapy and other factors that
could affect their risk of ovarian cancer.
The women
who took hormone replacement therapy were found to be at an
increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to
the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute. There was a 43 percent increased risk in women
taking estrogen alone and a 54 percent increase risk in women
taking estrogen in combination with sequentially added progestins,
taken in cycles. Women taking estrogen with daily added progestins
were not found to be at a great risk for developing ovarian
cancer.
The greatest
risk for ovarian cancer was found in women who had used estrogen
with sequentially added progestins for more than 10 years,
said the study.
Researchers
are not recommending any changes to current prescribing practices
of hormone replacement therapy at this time because the increase
in risk for ovarian cancer is considered to be relatively
modest.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of April 7, 2002
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