Cancer risk data from hormone therapy is "reassuring"

Two menopausal experts at the University of Virginia School of Medicine say a new scientific paper and other recent evidence provide important assurances that treating menopausal symptoms with hormone therapy increases the risk

Hormone therapy can help relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, vaginal problems, sexual problems, and decreased

The new review, published in the scientific journal Menopause, provides much-needed clarification

"When prescribing to women after hysterectomy, the use of estrogen therapy alone during menopause does not increase the risk

Hormone therapy with breast cancer risk

There has long been a question about whether hormone therapy — whether progesterone and estrogen are used together or alone — increases a woman's risk

This uncertainty prompted the authors of the new menopause review to assess

Pinkerton and her co-authors said in a corresponding editorial that their findings "strongly demonstrate" that the use of hormone therapy during menopause does not increase the risk

The editorial notes that the combination of estrogen and progesterone increases the risk of breast cancer in women who have not undergone hysterectomy, especially with

In addition, the authors note that not all progesterone — the drugs that protect the uterus from estrogen-stimulated cancer — share the same risk

Menopausal experts at the University of Virginia say the new paper and other recent findings provide important insights for patients and their doctors

"Let's replace fear with knowledge," Pinkerton said