HRT increases ovarian cancer risk by small amount

Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that ovarian cancer risk was significantly increased in current HRT users, even in those with less than five years of HRT use (the average was three years). In ex-users, risks decreased the longer ago HRT use had stopped, but risks during the first few years after stopping remained significant. Furthermore, about a decade after stopping, long-duration hormone therapy use (average nine years of HRT use), there still seemed to be a small excess risk. The review has a few limitations, however. The main one is that the review was heavily influenced by just two of the 52 included studies. These represented about 75% of the people studied, and neither corrected for use of oral contraceptives. However, overall this review is robust enough for us to be relatively confident that these findings are generally applicable to women in the UK and are broadly reliable, given the available evidence. The risk of HRT raising ovarian risk is not new, but this study seems to firm up the knowledge base and suggests the risk may come into play with shorter HRT use than previously thought. For example, current UK guidelines state that ovarian cancer risk may be increased with long-term use. These guidelines are regularly updated and this evidence will be considered when their recommendations are reviewed. Prof Rod Baber, President of the International Menopause Society, said via the Science Media Centre that: “… this risk in absolute...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medication Older people Source Type: news