Reduced use of hormones and the drop in breast cancer

doi:10.1136/bmj.b2116

Published 3 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2116
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2116

Editorials

Reduced use of hormones and the drop in breast cancer

The lowest dose of hormones for the least amount of time shouldbe used for the relief of menopausal flushes

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

Recent studies have shown falls in the incidence of breast cancerin Australia and the United Kingdom.¹ ² This decline in hormonereceptor positive tumours was found in post-menopausal womenbut not in pre-menopausal women, and has also been noted acrossmuch of Europe and the United States.¹ ³ Most of these reportshave linked this declining diagnosis of breast cancer to a decreasein use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) following publicationof the women’s health initiative study. The oestrogenplus progestogen arm of this study was halted in May 2002 becauseof an excess risk of breast cancer.⁴

A subsequent US study that examined trends of breast cancerincidence and HRT use within a screened population likewisefound a fall in the incidence of breast cancer correspondingto a decrease in the use of HRT.⁵ The rapid decrease in breastcancer incidence reported in these studies suggests that withdrawalof . . . [Full text of this article]

Helen Roberts, senior lecturer women’s health

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

h.roberts@auckland.ac.nz