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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Weve all heard the reports linking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to breast cancer. Now, it appears the treatment may be behind many cases of ovarian cancer as well.
According to British researchers conducting the Million Women Study in their country, use of the therapy may have contributed to an additional 1,000 ovarian cancer deaths between 1991 and 2005, and an additional 1,300 ovarian cancer diagnoses. That translates to about a 20-percent increased risk of developing the disease for women taking HRT compared to women not taking the therapy.
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The researchers note these findings mesh with U.S. studies showing breast cancer rates declined markedly after HRT use declined in 2003 following reports linking the therapy to a higher incidence of breast cancer in women who used it.
The good news from the British study is women who stop taking HRT appear to regain normal risks for ovarian cancer. The investigators believe other reproductive cancers might also benefit from halting the therapy.
The effect of HRT on ovarian cancer should not be viewed in isolation, especially since use of HRT also affects the risk of breast and endometrial cancer, the authors were quoted as saying. The total incidence of these three cancers in the study population is 63 percent higher in current users of HRT than never users. Thus, when ovarian, endometrial, and breast cancer are taken together, use of HRT results in a material increase in these common cancers.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The Lancet, published online April 18, 2007
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