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Influence of Estrogen Plus Progestin on Breast Cancer and Mammography in Healthy Postmenopausal Women: The Women's Health Initiative Randomized Trial

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TLDR
Relatively short-term combined estrogen plus progestin use increases incident breast cancers, which are diagnosed at a more advanced stage compared with placebo use, and also substantially increases the percentage of women with abnormal mammograms, a pattern which continued for the study duration.
Abstract
ContextThe Women's Health Initiative trial of combined estrogen plus progestin was stopped early when overall health risks, including invasive breast cancer, exceeded benefits. Outstanding issues not previously addressed include characteristics of breast cancers observed among women using hormones and whether diagnosis may be influenced by hormone effects on mammography.ObjectiveTo determine the relationship among estrogen plus progestin use, breast cancer characteristics, and mammography recommendations.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsFollowing a comprehensive breast cancer risk assessment, 16 608 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years with an intact uterus were randomly assigned to receive combined conjugated equine estrogens (0.625 mg/d) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5 mg/d) or placebo from 1993 to 1998 at 40 clinical centers. Screening mammography and clinical breast examinations were performed at baseline and yearly thereafter.Main Outcome MeasuresBreast cancer number and characteristics, and frequency of abnormal mammograms by estrogen plus progestin exposure.ResultsIn intent-to-treat analyses, estrogen plus progestin increased total (245 vs 185 cases; hazard ratio [HR], 1.24; weighted P<.001) and invasive (199 vs 150 cases; HR, 1.24; weighted P = .003) breast cancers compared with placebo. The invasive breast cancers diagnosed in the estrogen plus progestin group were similar in histology and grade but were larger (mean [SD], 1.7 cm [1.1] vs 1.5 cm [0.9], respectively; P = .04) and were at more advanced stage (regional/metastatic 25.4% vs 16.0%, respectively; P = .04) compared with those diagnosed in the placebo group. After 1 year, the percentage of women with abnormal mammograms was substantially greater in the estrogen plus progestin group (716 [9.4%] of 7656) compared with placebo group (398 [5.4%] of 7310; P<.001), a pattern which continued for the study duration.ConclusionsRelatively short-term combined estrogen plus progestin use increases incident breast cancers, which are diagnosed at a more advanced stage compared with placebo use, and also substantially increases the percentage of women with abnormal mammograms. These results suggest estrogen plus progestin may stimulate breast cancer growth and hinder breast cancer diagnosis.

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Treatment validity for intervention studies.

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: Principal results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial

TL;DR: Overall health risks exceeded benefits from use of combined estrogen plus progestin for an average 5.2-year follow-up among healthy postmenopausal US women, and the results indicate that this regimen should not be initiated or continued for primary prevention of CHD.
Journal ArticleDOI

Breast cancer and hormone replacement therapy: collaborative reanalysis of data from 51 epidemiological studies of 52 705 women with breast cancer and 108 411 women without breast cancer

Eugenia E. Calle, +194 more
- 11 Oct 1997 - 
TL;DR: Of the many factors examined that might affect the relation between breast cancer risk and use of HRT, only a woman's weight and body-mass index had a material effect: the increase in the relative risk of breast cancer diagnosed in women using HRT and associated with long durations of use in current and recent users was greater for women of lower than of higher weight or body- mass index.
Journal ArticleDOI

Design of the Women's Health Initiative clinical trial and observational study

TL;DR: The rationale for the interventions being studied in each of the CT components and for the inclusion of the OS component is described, including a brief description of the scientific and logistic complexity of the WHI.
Journal ArticleDOI

The use of estrogens and progestins and the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of adding progestins to estrogen therapy on the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women is investigated. But, the effect on the number of newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer cases was not quantified.
Journal ArticleDOI

Individual and combined effects of age, breast density, and hormone replacement therapy use on the accuracy of screening mammography.

TL;DR: The accuracy of screening mammography is best in older women and in women with fatty breasts, and the individual and combined effects of age, breast density, and HRT use on mammographic accuracy are examined.
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Breast cancer and hormone replacement therapy: collaborative reanalysis of data from 51 epidemiological studies of 52 705 women with breast cancer and 108 411 women without breast cancer

Eugenia E. Calle, +194 more
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