HRT Raises Risk of Lobular Breast Cancer(had a 2.7-fold increased risk of lobular...),Health

In women who had mixed cancers, HRT increased the risk of tumors that were primarily lobular but not those that were primarily ductal in nature. Current use of combined HRT was associated with about double the risk of tumors that were mostly lobular (although this was not considered statistically significant), about a fivefold increased risk of mostly ductal, and a 7.7-fold increased risk in tumors that were mixed in features.

Like the WHI, this study did not show an increased risk of breast cancer in women who were taking estrogen-only hormone therapy (only recommended for women who have had a hysterectomy).

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The National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. has more on different types of breast cancer.

SOURCES: Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., associate member, epidemiology program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle; Jay Brooks, M.D., chairman, hematology/oncology, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Baton Rouge, La.; Steven Goldstein, M.D., professor, obstetrics and gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, and author, The Estrogen Alternative and Could It Be Perimenopause?; January 2008 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention