Re: News - HRT- Washington Post, yesterday

[Guest guest]

Hormones May Raise Risk of Ovarian Cancer

By LINDSEY TANNER

The Associated Press

Tuesday, September 30, 2003; 5:38 PM

CHICAGO - Estrogen-progestin pills do not reduce the risk of ovarian cancer

and might even increase it, according to a study that raises more red flags

about a once widely accepted treatment for women going through menopause.

" It's more bad news " for hormones, said American Cancer Society

epidemiologist Dr. Carmen .

The findings came from the federally funded Women's Health Initiative study,

part of which was abruptly halted in 2002 because of evidence that

estrogen-progestin pills raise the risk of breast cancer, heart attacks and

strokes.

Previous findings on hormone pills and ovarian cancer have been inconsistent

Some studies, especially those involving estrogen-only pills, showed an

increased risk. But some doctors have theorized that combination pills would

reduce the risk because they contain hormones similar to those in birth

control pills, which have been shown to lower the odds.

The new analysis found that 32 of the 16,608 participants developed ovarian

cancer during about 5 1/2 years of follow-up. There were 20 cases in women

who took hormones and 12 in those on dummy pills.

The difference is not statistically significant because the cancer was so

rare, but the trend is worrisome, said lead author Garnet , of the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The analysis appears in

Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

" If women have no menopausal symptoms, they should not be taking " hormone

pills, said.

The analysis is " probably the best we have so far, " said , though

questions remain because so few women developed the rare cancer.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which makes the Prempro pills used in the study,

downplayed the results. " It does not prove that there's any kind of causal

relationship, " Wyeth's Dr. Kusiak said.

Women's Health Initiative data also have linked hormones with an increased

risk of dementia, adding to confounding evidence that the pills might

contribute to the very ailments they once were thought to prevent.

Hormone pills are approved for relieving hot flashes, night sweats and other

temporary problems of menopause, as well as for preventing bone-thinning

osteoporosis.

Wyeth has been saying since the first Women's Health Initiative results were

published in 2002 that hormones remain an effective treatment for menopausal

symptoms, and Kusiak reiterated that women seeking relief should take the

lowest possible dose for the shortest possible duration.

The company estimates that 1 million women were still taking Prempro pills

as of June, down from 3.4 million before the study was halted.

An arm of the government study involving estrogen-only pills is continuing.

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On the Net:

JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org

Women's Health Initiative: http://www.whi.org

© 2003 The Associated Press