Estrogen-Only Therapy Doubles Benign Breast Lumps: Study

Estrogen - a commonly used hormone supplement to treat post menopausal symptoms actually raises the risk of developing a benign proliferative breast disease by almost double, a U.S. study reports.

Commonly prescribed with a hormone replacement therapy pill, the estrogen-only post-menopausal users are suspected to develop the benign breast disease - a condition that is associated with increased risk of breast cancer later in life.

Nearly 10,000 post menopausal women (averaging 10 years past menopause) took part in a highly publicized study known as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). The women were either given estrogen alone or a dummy placebo and their developments were tracked for almost seven years.

A total of 232 incidents of benign proliferative breast disease were discovered during follow-up period, with 155 in the estrogen-only group and 77 in the placebo group. Thus, women given the estrogen-only therapy had twice the risk of developing these abnormalities compared with women given a placebo, the researchers noted.

The study conducted at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York was lead by Dr. Thomas E. Rohan of the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. The results are published in the online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Earlier, a combination hormone replacement therapy i.e. estrogen plus progestin, is already known to increase the risk of breast cancer. It is also linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious conditions. However, this study was initiated to track the influence of estrogen-only therapy.

While the study unfolds another risk linked with taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), the fact remains that ‘each and every person who is a candidate for taking hormone therapy really needs to weigh the risks and benefits’, Dr. Rohan said.

HRT, at the right age (right around menopause), and the right dosage has fewer health risks, researchers concluded.

The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute.