BMJ  2008;336:1330-1331 (14 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.39605.497431.DB

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Fall in hormone replacement therapy associated with fall in breast cancer

Melissa Sweet

1 Sydney

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

A sudden fall in the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in Australia has been associated with a drop in the incidence of breast cancer among older women, a study has shown (Medical Journal of Australia 2008;188:641-4).

A 40% decline in HRT prescribing between 2001 and 2003 was associated with a 6.7% fall in the incidence of breast cancer standardised for age in women aged 50 and older.

Women younger than 50 showed no significant change in incidence of breast cancer, the researchers found.

The fall in sales of HRT followed negative publicity arising from the women’s health initiative study, published in 2002 (JAMA 2002;288:321-33).

The authors of the new study, from the Cancer Council New South Wales, the Australian National University, and the University of Oxford’s cancer epidemiology unit, noted that the study did not prove a causal connection.

However, they were unable to find any evidence . . . [Full text of this article]


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Increased sporting activity after menopause may also be associated with a decline in breast cancer incidence
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bmj.com, 19 Jun 2008 [Full text]
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