Monday, February 16, 2009

HRT use and breast cancer rates - “the parallel is striking"

The European Journal of Cancer has published the results of a retrospective observational study that aimed to examine the association between declining use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer rates in post-menopausal women in the UK.

The study collected data from the General Practice Research Database and analysed HRT usage levels and the incidence of breast cancer. The researchers found that HRT usage halved (from 40% to 20%) between 2000 and 2006 in women aged 50-54 years old. There was also a decrease in usage for women 55-59 (from 35% to 15%).

The researchers also found that the incidence of breast cancer has been dropping by 0.8% per year since 1999 in the 50-59 age group. They conclude that, “it seems probable that these two events are causally related“.

Thanks Matt

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