Estrogen-alone therapy not linked to lung cancer deaths

While previous studies found increased lung cancer mortality in women taking estrogen-progestin combo therapy, the outcomes of estrogen-alone therapy on postmenopausal women with previous hysterectomy were not clear.

Estrogen-progestin therapy was also linked to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, and blood clots in postmenopausal women.

Details of the study
For the current trial, researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute scrutinized medical records of 10,739 women aged between 50 and 79, all of whom had undergone a hysterectomy, surgical removal of uterus.

The women were randomly put on an estrogen-alone or a placebo therapy.

During an eight-year study span, 61 women in the estrogen-alone group developed lung cancer, compared to 54 women in the placebo group, researchers reveal.

While 34 lung cancer deaths among women in the estrogen-alone group were reported during the same time, 33 women in the placebo group succumb to the disease.

"These findings should be reassuring for women with previous hysterectomy, who use estrogen alone for climacteric symptom management," study’s lead researcher, Dr. Rowan T. Chlebowski, of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, said.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) helps combat a range of menopausal symptoms, including severe hot flashes and night sweats.

"The difference between combined estrogen plus progestin use and estrogen alone use on death from lung cancer requires further investigation,” Chlebowski added.

Estrogen-alone Vs estrogen-progestin combo therapy
The estrogen-alone therapy is a viable option only for women with previous hysterectomy, Dr. Nanette Santoro, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado at Denver in Aurora, said.

For women with uterus, progesterone is essential to prevent abnormal changes that could cause cancerous growth in the lining of the uterus.

"Sometimes hormones are a great idea and sometimes they are not, so for most women I try to reassure them at first that we are very likely to be able to help reduce symptoms, but that some trial and error may be necessary," Santoro advised.

"Severity of symptoms, desire for relief, and prior adverse reactions to medications all go into the decision making process," Santoro added.

The findings of the study are published online on Aug. 13 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.