Hormone Replacement
Therapy May Not Increase Breast Cancer Risk - Estrogen Pills (HRT) can
Cause Strokes Blood Clots and Dementia
April
13th 2006
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Estrogen |
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The latest data from Women's Health Initiative (WHI) shows that estrogen
alone used for 7 years or less in women with hysterectomy does not
increase the risk (or perhaps the detection) of breast cancer in
general. A non-significant trend towards fewer cases was noted.
Obviously if this were the only finding it would be good news but it's
lot more confusing than that. Nevertheless, Wyeth, the maker of Premarin,
and a few of its designated, well paid mouthpieces are at it again,
saying estrogen is protective.
They've got Hugh Taylor from Yale and Wolf Utian of the North American
Menopause Society (a veteran HRT proponent) touting these results with
great enthusiasm. Highly irresponsible, for several reasons!! - The
"reduced risk" was not significant and the cancers of the women on
estrogen were larger and involved lymph nodes. Plus the women on
estrogen required additional testing or biopsies, and there appeared to
be an INCREASED RISK of breast cancer for those women with risk factors.
Coupling these findings with the overall findings makes this analysis
very confusing and thus underscores the recommendation on hormones that
currently stands: lowest dose for as short a time as possible.
One other thing - doctors owe it to patients to practice medicine
responsibly in order to make their lives better. But when they become
businessmen (such as Utian or Taylor) who are being paid to speak
favorably of a drug or procedure, regardless of the lacking data, they
do a great disservice to their patients and may indirectly harm them.
And I could care less about these 2 doctors' credentials or whatever
prestigious university or organization they may be affiliated with! It
is cavalier to be recommending estrogen as a preventative and to
blatantly deny the existence of its risks, whether proven or potential
(which I think these breast cancers findings are pointing to). And even
if longer follow-up does in fact prove that there's no overall risk for
breast cancer, there's hardly anything reassuring about the proven risks
of stroke, blood clots, and dementia.
Jonathan Raymond
Correspondent
Books on Cancer
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