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Estrogen & Breast Cancer

Q: What is the relationship between estrogen and breast cancer?


Dr. Donnica:
Many women have heard that estrogen causes breast cancer. This is one of the biggest fears among post-menopausal women who could (but choose not to) take HRT, and it is simply not true.  What is true is that estrogen does play a role in the promotion (or accelerated growth) of breast cancer.  While there is one major study of 80,000 nurses that shows that patients who took estrogen had a slightly increased risk of breast cancer, other studies contradict that finding.  The most interesting finding may be one from a study of 42,000 women in Iowa concluding that there was no difference in the survival rate from breast cancer in women on estrogen compared to those on placebo.  This study also concluded that a woman who took estrogen and got breast cancer had an increased life expectancy of 2-3 years over a matched control who did not take estrogen and did not get breast cancer.

Women who take HRT-and those who are considering it-should realize that any prescription drug must go through the extensive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug approval process to be on the market.  Each estrogen preparation has done so.  There are more than 3,000 studies available regarding estrogen's safety and efficacy, and many more are currently being conducted.  Ironically, the more we learn about estrogen, the more we learn about its additional benefits as well as its risk profile. 


Created: 9/28/2000  -  Donnica Moore, M.D.



 ... there was no difference in the survival rate from breast cancer in women on estrogen compared to those on placebo. 


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