Hormone replacement therapy after a diagnosis  of breast cancer: cancer recurrence and mortality

Hayes, Theresa M; Underhill, Craig R; Clarke, Kerrie; Tattersall, Martin HN

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2003.tb05265.x

Topics

To the Editor: We urge caution about the recently published findings of Durna and colleagues on use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by breast cancer patients.1 They found no increase in risk of breast cancer recurrence or reduction in life expectancy in women using HRT after treatment for primary breast cancer, leading them to conclude that HRT seems a safe treatment for women with a history of breast cancer. We believe that their study has many limitations and consequently their conclusions are unfounded

Correspondence:

1. Durna EM, Wren BG, Heller GZ, et al. Hormone replacement therapy after a diagnosis of breast cancer: cancer recurrence and mortality. Med J Aust 2002; 177: 347-351. <eMJA full text>
2. Col NF, Hirota LK, Orr RK, et al. Hormone replacement therapy after breast cancer: a systematic review and quantitative assessment of risk. J Clin Oncol 2001; 19: 2357-2363.
3. Nanda K, Bastian LA, Schulz K. Hormone replacement therapy and the risk of death from breast cancer: a systematic review. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002; 186: 325-334.
4. Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, et al. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2002; 288: 321-333.
5. Patel A, Norton R, MacMahon S. The HRT furore: getting the message right [editorial]. Med J Aust 2002; 177: 345-346. <eMJA full text>
6. HRT after cancer can cut relapse risk: study. Sydney Morning Herald 2002; Oct 7.
7. Burstein HJ, Winer EP. Primary care: primary care for survivors of breast cancer. N Engl J Med 2000; 343: 1086-1094.

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