New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that taking menopause hormones increases breast density, making it more difficult for doctors to detect cancer using mammograms. The study says the changes disappear when women stop taking the hormones. The study looked at more than 5000 postmenopausal women aged 40 to 96 who were enrolled in a large health maintenance organization. Participants had two mammograms between 1996 and 1998. The study looked at breast density, comparing women who didn't use hormones to those who did.
What's New
Previous research suggested that hormone supplements make breasts denser, but the authors say this study is the largest yet to examine the issue and show that changes in breast density are not permanent.
Caveats
The findings confirm that density increases disappear when hormones are stopped, but one expert, Dr. Funmi Olopade, a University of Chicago Breast Cancer Specialist, says that's not a reason to stop taking hormones. "Not every dense breast is going to develop breast cancer," Olopade said, and the study did not address whether stopping the hormones lowers the risk for developing breast cancer. Women past menopause are much more likely to develop thinning bones that could lead to injury than they are to develop breast cancer. The hormones can help prevent thinning bones.
Bottom Line
Hormone replacement therapy could increase chances older, higher- risk women miss early detection of breast cancer because it decreases the accuracy of mammograms. Older women on hormones should use alternative methods of breast cancer detection, in addition to their regular mammograms.
Find This Study
A summary of the study is available online from the ABCNews Web Site.
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