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New study connects declining use of hormone therapy to drop in breast cancer

Category: Breast

Cancer testing has shown that the number of women who develop breast cancer is dropping. A team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco believes that they have found a link between this drop in cancer rates and the declining prevalence of hormone therapy.

For decades women were advised to go on hormone replacement therapy as they go through menopause. However, in recent years, some doctors have suggested that this may increase the risk of breast cancer. This connection had gone largely unsubstantiated until now.

After examining the medical records of more than 2 million women who received a mammogram between 1997 and 2008, researchers found that women between the ages of 50 and 69 who used the least hormones had the lowest rates of breast cancer.

"We show that the incidence of breast cancer decreases if you take the hormones away,'' said Karla Kerlikowske, who led the investigation."The fact that we're continuing to see a decrease in invasive cancer means that the effects of stopping the hormones may be long-lasting.''