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HRT decrease leads to ER+ decrease?

Page last modified on: November 20, 2008
Question from Peachpie: In USA Today there was an article about the decrease in breast cancer after women between the ages of 50-69 stopped taking hormones. At first I thought it referred to tamoxifen, Arimidex, etc. Was this in reference to hormones like Premarin, etc. and not the post-cancer treatment hormones that we take that are supposed to keep cancer at bay, particularly estrogen-positive ones?
Answers —Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H.: That's a great question! It's a common misunderstanding when we make the distinction between hormonal therapies and hormone replacement therapies. Oncologists don't use hormone replacement therapy (HRT), so we forget to clarify that for our patients. But you are exactly right—the guess on why we are seeing a decrease in estrogen-receptor-positive cancers is that women decrease the use of hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy is the use of estrogen and progesterone to treat menopausal symptoms and other changes that happen after the menopause. Hormonal treatment for breast cancer, on the other hand, is used to decrease the risk of recurrent breast cancer or to prevent breast cancer altogether in hormone-receptor-positive cases.
Marisa Weiss, M.D., president and founder: It's great that there was a drop in the number of women affected by breast cancer during the year of 2003. We're not sure exactly how to explain this drop. Researchers think that a decline in the use of HRT that occurred around the same time may explain part of the drop. Of course, we want to see this drop continue over many years—and drop down to zero! To get the risk of breast cancer down to zero, we have to figure out all the different causes that may contribute to breast cancer. HRT is only one of a list of causes.
Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H.: HRT probably does not cause breast cancer, but facilitates breast cancer's growth.

On Wednesday, December 20, 2006, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Updates from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2006. Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. and moderator Marisa Weiss, M.D. answered your questions about the newest research on breast cancer treatment, side effects, risk of recurrence, and more.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H.Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. is a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of breast cancer, with a a special interest in cancer survivorship, patient-physician communication, and quality of care for women with breast cancer.

Marisa Weiss, M.D. is a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer and the founder, president, and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org.

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