University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine - Women with BRCA mutations can take hormone-replacement therapy safely after ovary removal

CHICAGO) ––

Women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, which are linked to a very high risk of breast and ovarian cancer, can safely take hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) to mitigate menopausal symptoms after surgical removal of their ovaries, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania which will be presented Monday, June 6 during the American Society for Clinical Oncology's annual meeting (Abstract #1501). Results of the prospective study indicated that women with BRCA mutations who had their ovaries removed and took short-term HRT had a decrease in the risk of developing breast cancer...............

Domchek says some of the confusion about the role of HRT in cancer risk elevation comes from the fact that the risks and benefits associated with HRT depend on the population of women studied. In this group of women – who have BRCA1/2 mutations and who have had their ovaries removed while they are quite young – HRT should be discussed and considered an option for treating menopausal symptoms. "People want to make hormone replacement therapy evil, so they can say 'Don't do it,'" she says. "But there isn't one simple answer. The devil is in the details of the studies."

By contrast, Penn researchers and their collaborators in the PROSE consortium have shown definitively that oophorectomy reduces ovarian and breast cancer incidence in these women, and reduces their mortality due to those cancers. But paying attention to the role that hormone depletion following preventive oophorectomy plays in women's future health (blogger's note: eg. cardiovascular) is also important............"