Data from a prospective cohort study published Tuesday in JAMA showed that menopausal and postmenopausal women who used hormone replacement therapy (HRT) had a 38-percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, compared with those who never used the treatments. Lead author Lina Steinrud Morch noted that the risk of ovarian cancer increases “even at durations of zero to four years.” Data showed that two to four years after discontinuing HRT, women had about the same risk as those who were not treated with the products.

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The study involved an analysis of data from several national registers in Denmark for more than 900 000 women, aged 50 to 79 years, from 1995 to 2005. During the follow-up period, which had an average length of eight years, findings showed 3068 cases of ovarian cancer. Researchers indicated that the risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer was 44-percent higher in those who were treated with HRT, compared to those who never received treatment.

The investigators concluded that the increased risk of ovarian cancer existed “regardless of…the formulation, oestrogen dose, regimen, progestin type, and route of administration.” Nonetheless, Morch added that “despite a 40-percent increased risk…among current users of hormones, each woman will still have a very low absolute risk of developing cancer due to her hormone use.” Based on a comparison of incidence rates in current and “never users” of HRT, the analysis “approximates one extra ovarian cancer for roughly 8300 women taking hormone therapy each year,” according to the study authors.

Source: FirstWord

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