Breast Cancer drop linked to HRT

As millions of women halted menopause hormone treatment therapy (HRT) after a nationwide study concluded probable linkage between hormone therapy and increased breast cancer cases, the breast cancer rates reported a stunning decline in 2003, reports say.

Where on one hand, the combined cancer incidence for women of all age groups and breast cancer types dropped by 7.2 percent, on the other hand, the estrogen sensitive tumors that account for up to 70 percent of all breast cancer tumors reported a striking 15 percent fall in 2003.

According to the statistics collected by researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas and presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Thursday, the stunning new analysis though does not prove a link between menopause hormones and breast cancer formations, but strongly points towards it.

Statistician Donald Berry of the University of Texas theorized that, as cancer growths take years to form, going off hormones would not instantly prevent new tumors. However, the development of already formed tumors might stop growing, shrink or disappear and thus were no longer detected by mammograms.

As per the National Cancer Institutes's surveillance database, women aged 50 and above- medically the highest users of hormones, reported the highest incidence of decline. Moreover, estrogen triggered tumors declined twice as much as tumors that were not estrogen-sensitive.

Stats reveal an expected 200,000 cases of breast cancer in 2003. However, a 7.2 percent drop practically means 14,400 fewer cases of breast cancer being diagnosed every year, elated experts highlighted.

Essential for the normal growth and development of the breast and tissues important for reproduction, Estrogen is a hormone that is a chemical messenger in the body. Estrogen also helps control a woman's menstrual cycle. However, lifetime exposure to estrogen is also associated with increasing a woman's risk for breast cancer.