Does HRT increase the risk of breast cancer? Don't forget the menopausal woman!

摘要

By suggesting a link with breast cancer, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and the UK Million Women Study (MWS) have had a profound effect on the use of hormone replacement therapy (HR) and, therefore, the lives of millions of meno-pausal women. It is therefore correct that, if doubt exists regarding the validity of the results, it should be debated in papers such as that of Shapiro and colleagues. The recent critiques of the WHI and MWS have clearly illustrated a number of key flaws which, in the authors' opinion, limited the ability of the trials to establish a causal association (if one exists) between HRT and breast cancer.