BMJ  2003;327:359 (16 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7411.359

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Hormone treatment increases breast cancer risk, study shows

Susan Mayor

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Long term use of combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT) doubles the risk of breast cancer, according to a major epidemiological study published last week that showed for the first time the higher risk with combined oestrogen and progestogen treatment.


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From 1996 to 2001 the million women study recruited 1 084 110 women in the United Kingdom aged 50-64 years. When they were invited to attend for routine mammography the women were asked to complete a questionnaire that included questions about their use of HRT. They were then followed up for mortality and incidence of cancer.

The results of the study, published in the Lancet (2003;362: 419-27)[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline], showed that current users of all types of HRT, including oestrogen only, combined oestrogen and progestogen, and tibolone (synthetic hormone treatment), had a higher risk of breast cancer than women who had never used HRT (adjusted relative risk 1.66 (95% confidence interval . . . [Full text of this article]


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