HRT: Where Are We Now?
Is hormone therapy (HRT) making a comeback?
Putting the Risks of HRT in Perspective
Media reports on the WHI results may have given people inflated fears of hormone replacement therapy's risks, the doctors say.
For example, the Women's Health Initiative results showed that combined hormone replacement therapy seems to increase the risk of breast cancer by 33%, Schiff says. That's a serious increase. Still, the risk to any one woman is not as high as it sounds, Schiff says.
"According to the WHI, without hormone therapy, 3 of every 1,200 women aged 55 to 59 will develop breast cancer this year," says Schiff. "With hormone therapy, 4 out of 1,200 will. It's a 33% increase, but the absolute risk is still very, very small."
Shuster points out that other behaviors -- like drinking two glasses of wine a night -- also increase breast cancer risk by a similar amount.
Women who take estrogen alone -- a treatment only available to people who have had a hysterectomy -- appear to have a lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who take progestin and estrogen together. In a 2006 JAMA article, researchers from the Women's Health Initiative found that after about seven years of treatment with estrogen, there seemed to be no increased risk of breastcancer.
However, estrogen-only therapy may have long-term risks. A May 2006 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found using estrogen-only therapy for 20 years or more showed increased risk of developing breast cancer.
So Who Needs Hormone Replacement Therapy?
As HRT is being re-evaluated -- and new evidence is coming in -- it's difficult to know who should get hormone replacement therapy and for how long.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that HRT should be used in women who have severe menopausal symptoms.
"Estrogens are the best agents we have for the relief of menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and loss of sexuality," says Schiff. They're also a good treatment for menopausal symptoms that are often not recognized: Difficulty sleeping, stiffness, joint pain, and mood changes.
But for disease prevention -- lowering the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and most cases of osteoporosis -- the FDA still does not recommend hormone replacement therapy.