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A correction has been published: N Engl J Med 1995;333(20):1355.

Original Article
Volume 332:1589-1593 June 15, 1995 Number 24
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The Use of Estrogens and Progestins and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women
Graham A. Colditz, M.B., B.S., Susan E. Hankinson, Sc.D., David J. Hunter, M.B., B.S., Walter C. Willett, M.D., JoAnn E. Manson, M.D., Meir J. Stampfer, M.D., Charles Hennekens, M.D., Bernard Rosner, Ph.D., and Frank E. Speizer, M.D.

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 by Brunoski, T.
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ABSTRACT

Background The effect of adding progestins to estrogen therapy on the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women is controversial.

Methods To quantify the relation between the use of hormones and the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, we extended our follow-up of the participants in the Nurses' Health Study to 1992. The women were asked to complete questionnaires every two years to update information on their menopausal status, use of estrogen and progestin preparations, and any diagnosis of breast cancer. During 725,550 person-years of follow-up, we documented 1935 cases of newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer.

Results The risk of breast cancer was significantly increased among women who were currently using estrogen alone (relative risk, 1.32; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.14 to 1.54) or estrogen plus progestin (relative risk, 1.41; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.15 to 1.74), as compared with postmenopausal women who had never used hormones. Women currently taking hormones who had used such therapy for 5 to 9 years had an adjusted relative risk of breast cancer of 1.46 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.22 to 1.74), as did those currently using hormones who had done so for a total of 10 or more years (relative risk, 1.46; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.20 to 1.76). The increased risk of breast cancer associated with five or more years of postmenopausal hormone therapy was greater among older women (relative risk for women 60 to 64 years old, 1.71; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.34 to 2.18). The relative risk of death due to breast cancer was 1.45 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.01 to 2.09) among women who had taken estrogen for five or more years.

Conclusions The addition of progestins to estrogen therapy does not reduce the risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women. The substantial increase in the risk of breast cancer among older women who take hormones suggests that the trade-offs between risks and benefits should be carefully assessed.


Source Information

From the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School (G.A.C., S.E.H., D.J.H., W.C.W., J.E.M., M.J.S., C.H., B.R., F.E.S.), and the Departments of Epidemiology (G.A.C., S.E.H., D.J.H., W.C.W., M.J.S.), Biostatistics (B.R.), and Nutrition (W.C.W., M.J.S.), Harvard School of Public Health — all in Boston. Presented in part at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco, February 22, 1994.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Colditz at Harvard Medical School, Channing Laboratory, 180 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115.

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Related Letters:

Breast Cancer and Hormone-Replacement Therapy
Brunoski T., Powell L. H., Blackman J. A., Bush T. L., Joseph K.S., Dupont W. D., Wigg D.R., Bluming A. Z., Colditz G. A., Willett W. C., Speizer F. E.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1995; 333:1355-1358, Nov 16, 1995. Correspondence

Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy and Mortality
Whooley M. A., Grady D., Cummings S. R., Green J., Wintfeld N., Atkins C. D., Grodstein F., Stampfer M. J., Willett W. C.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1997; 337:1389-1391, Nov 6, 1997. Correspondence

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