RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Hormone replacement is pointed out as a potential treatment for patients suffering from breast cancer, but according to a study published last Thursday, August 29th, in the scientific journal The Lancet, the therapy is, in fact, a direct cause of this tumor.
It is estimated that in Europe alone, some six million women resort to hormone replacement therapy.
The same research alerts that one in every 50 women, of healthy weight, who resort to the most common form of this therapy daily – combined estrogen and progestogen – for at least five years – has a high probability of suffering from breast cancer. For this group, the risk corresponds to 8.3 percent.
For women who only take progestins, the risk decreases to 7.7 percent; it is even less for those who use only estrogen, with an associated risk of 6.8 percent.
Also according to the research, it is estimated that 6.3 percent of women over 50 years of age with healthy weight in Western countries will develop breast cancer over the next 20 years, even without any hormone therapy.
Additionally, obese women are more likely to suffer from cancer, because excess fat produces extra estrogen after menopause.