The relationship between hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer

For decades, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been used as a standard treatment for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings and vaginal dryness Estrogen and progesterone are often used in combination, and no safety problems were found at that time But by the beginning of the 21st century, people began to worry about the safety of hormone replacement therapy, because some studies found that hormone replacement therapy has some risk factors Among them, hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer risk are often closely related Now many doctors only use hormone replacement therapy when there is no other alternative Subsequent studies have also confirmed a link between hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer In particular, there is evidence that hormone replacement therapy can increase the tumor, but the results of mammography are not obvious This means that breast cancer patients are often diagnosed at an advanced stage, so they miss the best opportunity for treatment Oestrogen in HRT is also seen as an inducement to 66% of cancers that contain estrogen receptors Estrogen nourishes tumors and increases their size and strength In 2010, another study found a link between the duration of HRT and the severity of breast cancer In other words, people who have been using hormone replacement therapy for more than five years are more likely to develop breast cancer and have a higher mortality rate This means that if HRT is to be used, the treatment should be as short as possible In the past, many women have used this treatment for more than a decade, which significantly increased the risk of premature death from breast cancer or other cancers The evidence compiled by a large number of studies clearly indicates that hormone replacement therapy is related to breast cancer, but it is still used in most places For example, hormone therapy can be used in the United States after hysterectomy, or recommended in cases of severe osteoporosis Because it is still available, it is often used for purposes other than labelling, such as treatment of menopausal symptoms It may be reasonable to use it, but patients should fully consider its life-threatening potential side effects The safety of hormonal contraceptive control is also controversial because of the use of the same hormone So far, continued use for about 10 years will slightly increase the risk of breast cancer Women who did not use hormone contraceptive control tended to be normal It is unclear whether hormonal birth control and hormone replacement therapy will have cumulative effects and further increase the risk of breast cancer.