Doctors Warn Breast Cancer Risk Is Underplayed as Hormone Therapy Use Doubles in 5 Years
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 6
Doctors Warn Breast Cancer Risk Is Underplayed as Hormone Therapy Use Doubles in 5 Years
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 6
Summary
Use of menopause hormone therapy has doubled over the past five years, and some physicians say discussion of the small breast-cancer risk from certain systemic treatments is fading.
Fewer than 4% of women use hormones, but recent endorsements from major medical societies and the removal of the drugs’ black-box warning have helped swing opinion back toward treatment.
The concern centers on combination hormone therapy: the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative linked it to higher breast-cancer rates, while estrogen-only treatment showed no such risk for women after hysterectomy.
Doctors now generally advise starting therapy within 10 years of menopause and before age 60, and newer formulations are thought to be safer, but long-term breast-cancer data remain limited.