Journal article
Mammographic changes associated with postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy: a longitudinal study
Radiology, Vol.174(2), p.487
02/01/1990
Abstract
Hormone replacement therapy with estrogen or a combination of estrogen and progesterone is often recommended to postmenopausal women. Such therapy is thought to be beneficial in preventing bone loss, heart disease, and other diseases that occur at an increased rate in women after menopause. It is also thought that hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk for endometrial cancer when estrogen is given alone, but that adding progesterone to the estrogen negates this effect. A few reports have indicated that estrogen replacement therapy may cause changes in the breast that can be detected by mammography, X-ray imaging of the breasts. This study examined mammographic changes in the breast tissue of 50 women who received hormone replacement therapy. The women had mammograms taken within one year before starting hormone therapy and at least once a year after therapy was begun. Estrogen alone was given to 12 women and a combination of estrogen and progesterone was given to 38 women. On the pretreatment mammograms, breast tissue appeared dense in 9 (18 percent) women, fatty in 6 (12 percent) women, and heterogenous in 35 (70 percent) women. Mammograms taken approximately 18 months after treatment began showed that breast tissue density increased in 12 (24 percent) of the women. These results indicate that hormone replacement therapy can cause an increase in breast tissue density. The increased density is not a problem itself, but it can reduce the efficacy of mammography, and thus prevent the early detection of breast cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Mammographic changes associated with postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy: a longitudinal study
- Creators
- Jack E MeyerPaul C StomperBradley J Van Voorhis - University of Iowa, Obstetrics and GynecologyVeronica A Ravnikar
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Radiology, Vol.174(2), p.487
- Publisher
- Radiological Society of North America Inc
- ISSN
- 0033-8419
- eISSN
- 1527-1315
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/01/1990
- Description audience
- Professional
- Academic Unit
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Record Identifier
- 9983557417602771
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