The rise and fall of breast cancer rates Partly a result of trends in mammography screening and HRT use, but other factors must be considered

摘要

Around 2002, after several decades of steady increase, the incidence of breast cancer in many parts of the developed world began to decrease. Several explanations for this decline have been proposed, but a favoured theory has been a reduction in the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after release of the results of the Women's Health Initiative randomised trial.In the linked study, Weedon-Fekjaer and colleagues present ecological data supporting a role for mammography screening and HRT use in recent trends in the incidence of breast cancer.5