Hormone Therapy and Risk of Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now?

Abstract

Several studies have examined the clinical benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). However, because long-term use of HRT has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of breast cancer, some women remain skeptical when considering this therapy to address their vasomotor symptoms. Hence, physicians and nurses should actively engage in constructive discourse with their patients regarding HRT while specifically reviewing the potential risks of its extended use as well as provide the available medical alternatives the patients could potentially use.

A Recent Review of the Management of Postmenopausal Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

“…Treatments for breast cancer include surgery, radiotherapy, systemic chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy. Endocrine therapies aim to prevent the interaction between estrogen and estrogen-dependent pathways that stimulate neoplastic cells by blocking the production of estrogen or the action of estrogen on tumor cells [ 1 ]. This is the mechanism through which breast cancer treatment-related menopausal symptoms develop.…”