February 16, 2000

WESTPORT, Conn. (HealthScout)-Hormone replacement therapy is coming under the microscope in yet another study -- due to be published tomorrow in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute -- according to a Washington Post story. Taking a combination of the hormones -- estrogen and progestin -- to relieve symptoms of menopause may put women at a greater risk of breast cancer than previous studies had surmised, according to the story.

About 8.6 million women in the United States now take estrogen and progestin, and another 12 million (who have had hysterectomies) take estrogen alone, the paper reports. And experts are now taking yet another look at whether the benefits -- decreased heart disease, less age-related bone loss and other healthy side effects -- apply to women taking both hormones. Doctors won't normally give estrogen alone because it is linked to a higher risk of uterine cancer.

A study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that taking estrogen with progestin raised the risk of breast cancer.