Hormone Therapy Increases Odds of Ovarian Cancer
And, although the absolute risk of ovarian cancer remained low, Morch noted, "ovarian cancer is the most lethal of gynecologic cancers. The five-year survival rates are 40 percent. Only a few risk factors for ovarian cancer are modifiable."
The study included all Danish women (909,946) between the ages of 50 to 79 at the start of the study. During eight years of follow-up, the researchers found 3,068 cases of ovarian cancer. Of these, 2,681 were epithelial ovarian cancers.
As soon as women stopped taking hormones, the risk of ovarian cancer decreased. Women who had just stopped taking hormones compared to those who were off for less than two years had a 22 percent increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to never-users. After two to four years off hormone therapy, the risk of ovarian cancer had dropped back down to normal.
The researchers weren't able to adjust the data to account for family history or for prior birth control use, which Morch said might result in an underestimation of the ovarian cancer risk.
The researchers didn't find any significant difference in risk based on how long women were taking hormone therapy or the type of hormone preparation they took.
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