According to the results of a study recently published in Lancet Oncologyhormonal substitutive treatments modify the risk of breast cancer, even in young women, with variable effects depending on the type of treatment chosen, the duration of the treatment and the characteristics of the patient.
« Hormonal treatment based on estrogen and progestogen is a proven risk factor of breast cancer in menopausal women “Write the authors, led by Katie M O’Brienof Research Triangle Park In North Carolina (United States), the first author of the article. O’Brien and his colleagues have concentrated their research on a currently less studied subject, namely the link between exogenous hormones and breast cancer in young women likely to follow a hormonal treatment after gynecological surgery or to relieve the symptoms of perimenopause.
More specifically, the study analyzed the data of several prospective cohorts in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, for a total of just under 460,000 people. Among these, 2 % (8,455 women) developed early breast cancer (before the age of 55).
Many variables to define the risk
15 % of participants in the recently published study had followed a hormonal substitute treatment (estrogen: 6 % – estrogen alone: 5 %). The results clearly show that the risk associated with hormonal treatment varies not only depending on the type of treatment, but also other variables. Estrogen -based treatment only has been associated with a 14 % reduction in the risk of breast cancer compared to the absence of hormonal treatment. With regard to estroprogestative treatment, a positive association was observed with the risk of breast cancer occurring at a young age, with an increase in risk of 10 %, reaching 18 % and 15 % respectively in the event of prolonged use for more than 2 years and in women who have not undergone hysterectomy or bilateral ovariectomy. The accumulated risks of breast cancer before 55 years were 4.1 % for women who have never followed hormone treatment, 3.6 % for those who have followed an estrogenic treatment alone and 4.5 % for those who have followed an estroprogestative treatment.
The study also highlighted that the various hormonal treatments have a specific impact on the type of breast cancer: in the case of estrogen treatment, the association has proven to be similar for all subtypes of breast cancer, while estroprogestative treatment has shown a stronger association with negative breast cancer with estrogen receptors (HR: 1.44) Negative (HR: 1.50).
« The results reported in the joint analysis can be used to improve and refine clinical recommendations relating to the use of hormonal treatment in young women, for which the indications were previously rare », Conclude the authors.
This article has been translated fromUnivadis.it. The content was reviewed by the editorial staff before publication.
