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Sept. 12, 2002 |
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Browse Archives n Lung n Breast n General n Prostate n Leukemia n Lymphoma n Colon n News/Issues |
Hormone therapy doesn't interfere with mammogram PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sept. 12, 2002 (Cancer Digest) -- Whatever else hormone replacement therapy may do for women, it apparently doesn't not interfere with mammography screening for breast cancer, according to a new study. Because hormones increase the density of breast tissue, researchers have suspected that HRT use would make it more difficult to detect tumors on mammograms. As a result, it was suspected that tumors in patients who have received HRT might not be detected until they were larger and more advanced. The new study led by Dr. Rodney Pommier of the Oregon Health & Science University showed that apparently the opposite is true. The study reported in the September issue of the journal The Archives of Surgery,found that women who use HRT had less aggressive tumors and were more likely to be diagnosed through mammograms than other methods. A study of nearly 300 breast cancer patients at Oregon Health & Science University found that women who use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have less aggressive tumors and are more likely to be diagnosed through mammograms than other methods. Also, HRT users with breast cancer had significantly better survival rates than non-HRT users. The study is published in the September issue of the journal The Archives of Surgery. "From this data it appears that HRT use had only beneficial effects on breast cancer detection and outcomes, with no visible negative effects," said Pommier in a prepared statement. The study of nearly 300 breast cancer patients found that of 144 study patients using HRT, 84 had their tumors detected by mammogram, while 60 were detected by other methods. That compared to 63 of 148 non-HRT users tumors detected by mammogram, while 85 were detected by palpation (feeling for lumps). Even more surprising, among the women whose tumors were detected by mammogram, HRT users had a 100 percent survival rate after six years, compared to 87 percent of nonusers who survived that long. The study found significantly fewer cases of invasive tumors among HRT users, and higher incidences of early stage less aggressive disease. Hormone replacement therapy came under fire last month after the HRT study of 67,000 women taking part in the Women's Health Initiative showed that long-term use of combination hormone therapies using estrogen and progestin can lead to slight increases in heart disease, stroke and breast cancer. "Every woman should talk to her physician about her own risks and benefits of taking hormones," said Pommier. "But this data needs to be taken into consideration as well. If we know that HRT can improve survival rates by producing a less aggressive breast cancer, then it's possible that by withholding HRT for the purpose of possibly preventing a few cases of breast cancer, you're going to have a higher death rate among women who were going to get the disease anyway." |
Related Stories Hormone trial halted early due to boost in breast cancer risk |
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