The largest drop in HRT use occurred between 2002 and 2004, when usage fell from 12.7 percent to 4.9 percent. During the same years, breast cancer rates dropped nearly 10 percent.

Breast cancer rates among postmenopausal women in Canada began to rise again starting in 2005, which researchers say is likely still linked to HRT use. “Such a rebound might be expected if (previously undetected) hormone-sensitive tumors were merely slowed by the withdrawal of hormone replacement therapy rather than prevented by it,” researchers wrote.

HRT was widely used among women to treat symptoms of menopause including hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It was also touted for added benefits of the prevention of cardiovascular disease and dementia, and became widely prescribed in several countries including the United States and Canada. But a large study as part of the Women’s Health Initiative was abruptly halted in 2002 when data showed that the medication put women at greater risk for breast cancer. Since then, prescriptions for HRT have dropped considerably.

Source: ThirdAge.com

SOURCE: Hormone Replacement Therapy › Drop in breast cancer rates coincides with drop in HRT use

The study was based on data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a research project into the mortality and morbidity of menopausal and post-menopausal women. One aspect of WHI looked into the benefits of HRT, but was halted in its early phases in 2002 when researchers found women on hormone therapy were at substantially higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who did not take HRT. The study also showed women were at greater risk for heart attacks, strokes and blood clots, which contradicted popular HRT-maker Wyeth’s claims that the therapy actually improved a woman’s risk for those and other conditions.

The new study on the connection between HRT use, breast tenderness and breast cancer involved 16,000 women, half of which were given estrogen-plus-progestin and the other half were given a placebo. The women who took the HRT who did not experience breast tenderness prior to therapy were three times more likely to report breast tenderness one year after beginning therapy, than women taking the placebo. Women on HRT who reported breast tenderness one year after beginning hormone therapy had a 48 percent high risk of developing invasive breast cancer than women also taking HRT who did not report new-onset breast tenderness at the one-year mark.

Researchers say more research needs to be done to understand the relationship between new-onset breast tenderness in women on HRT and breast cancer.

Source: Oncology Nursing News

SOURCE: Hormone Replacement Therapy › Women on HRT who experience breast tenderness at greater risk of cancer

According to court documents, ghostwriters for Wyeth wrote 26 articles that appeared in 18 different medical journals between 1998 and 2005 emphasizing that hormones protect against osteoporosis, heart disease and dementia and down-playing the risks. In 2001, Wyeth benefited by reaping nearly $2 billion in sales of its HRT drugs Premarin and Prempro, making them among of the most prescribed drugs in the U.S.

But at what cost did Wyeth benefit?

In 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a research initiative initiated by the National Institutes of Health to look into some of the major health problems of older women, was abruptly halted after researchers found that menopausal women who took certain hormones had an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. One of the thousands of victims is Geraldyne Frambs of Sacramento, Calif.

In the mid-1980s, Frambs was prescribed and began taking HRT. In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now she wants justice. This week, attorney Ted G. Meadows with Beasley Allen Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of Frambs against Wyeth Inc., Weyth Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia Corporation, Pharmacia & UpJohn LLC, Greenstone Ltd, Barr Laboratories Inc., Barr Pharmaceuticals and ESO Lederle Inc.

The lawsuit alleges that the cancer, subsequent surgery, treatment, injury and damage to Frambs were caused by her use of HRT. The complaint alleges that the defendants were negligent by not assuring that their products did not cause users to suffer from foreseeable unreasonably dangerous side effects and serious health problems, and that they should have known the serious risks women were put under by using drugs that were defective at the time of production. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that the defendants willfully deceived the plaintiff by concealing the true facts concerning the hormone therapy drugs, which the defendants, as manufacturers, marketers and distributors of the products, had a duty to disclose to the plaintiff.

The lawsuit seeks recovery of all monies the plaintiff paid for the products; to be compensated for the cost of medical care as a result of the use of the products including past medical expenses, wage loss, pain, suffering, disability and emotional distress.

Read Frambs’ complaint: Frambs v Wyeth (HRT Lawsuit)

Sources:
New York Times
Beasley Allen

SOURCE: Hormone Replacement Therapy › Wyeth paid ghostwriters to sway doctors to prescribe HRT