Research Shows Vaginal Estrogen Is Safe for Women With Breast Cancer
Using vaginal estrogen helped ease vaginal dryness and irritation in women diagnosed with breast cancer without increasing their risk of dying from breast cancer, according to a study.
“This finding may provide some reassurance to prescribing clinicians and support the guidelines suggesting that vaginal estrogen therapy can be considered in patients with breast cancer and genitourinary symptoms,” the researchers wrote. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause is a long name for the group of symptoms that the decrease in estrogen that comes with menopause can cause in the vagina and bladder.
Hormonal therapy, which is used to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, can bring on many of these symptoms and make them more intense than they would be if a person was going through natural menopause.
The study analyzed the health records of two large groups of women between 40 and 79 years old who had breast cancer. One group was from Wales (22,275 women) and one was from Scotland (26,962 women).
Overall, 5% of the women used vaginal estrogen and 1% used systemic hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The Welsh women were followed for five to 12 years, and the Scottish women were followed for three to seven years. During the follow-up period, 5,795 women died from breast cancer.
The study found that there was no increase in the risk of dying from breast cancer between women who used vaginal estrogen and women who didn’t use vaginal estrogen or systemic HRT.
When looking only at women diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, the results were the same: using vaginal estrogen didn’t increase the risk of dying from breast cancer.
If you’re being treated for breast cancer and are having any of the symptoms included in genitourinary syndrome of menopause, vaginal estrogen can safely and effectively treat these symptoms without affecting your prognosis.
Better Sexual Health for Women Taking Hormonal Therapy
With guest Kristin Rojas, MD, FACS
Jun 7, 2023Life With or After Cancer