Research News on Menopause and HRT

It is unlikely that menopausal hormone therapy (MHT, also called hormone replacement therapy or HRT) will be offered to you if you have had breast cancer. The jury is still out on whether hormone therapy increases women's risk for recurrence or a new cancer, but most experts agree that the risks and unknowns outweigh the benefits at this point.

Yet if your symptoms are severe enough to interfere with your quality of life and no other therapies have been successful, you may still be a candidate for MHT. And this caution does not exclude the possible use of vaginal estrogen preparations to alleviate specific symptoms.

In this section, you can read about recent research on whether or not hormone replacement therapy increases the risk for breast cancer in women who have no personal history of the disease.

You'll also find reviews of research on HRT for women with breast cancer, as well as research on effective non-hormonal treatments for hot flashes.

These research reports are part of the Breastcancer.org Research News program.  Our experts examine recent breast cancer research for exciting advances, important updates, and changes in how breast cancer is treated and diagnosed.

We present these studies in easy-to-understand language, explaining their importance, how they were conducted, and what impact the results might have for YOU.

If you'd like to find out about upcoming Research News reports, as well as other important Breastcancer.org programs, including Ask-the-Expert Online Conferences, we encourage you to sign up for free email updates.

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