"Menopausal Women's Hormone Therapy, Impact on Reducing Breast Cancer Incidence"

Risk of Breast Cancer Decreases After 5 Years of Hormone Therapy Regardless of Type

Prof. Kim Hye-in, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yongin Severance Hospital; Prof. Seo Seok-gyo, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Severance Hospital; Resident Baek Jin-kyung; Prof. Kim Ui-hyeok, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ilsan Hospital (from left).

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A study has found that hormone therapy for menopausal women affects the reduction of breast cancer.

Professor Kim Hye-in of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yonsei University Yongin Severance Hospital, Professor Seo Seok-kyo and resident Baek Jin-kyung of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Severance Hospital, and Professor Kim Ui-hyeok of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital announced on the 20th that they have proven that the type and duration of hormone replacement therapy during menopause affect the incidence rate of breast cancer.

Hormone replacement therapy has been used as the primary treatment for menopausal symptoms since the 1960s, but its prescription decreased after it was found that the incidence rate of breast cancer significantly increased after treatment. However, it is known that hormone therapy using tibolone shows a lower incidence rate of breast cancer in Western women without risk factors for breast cancer, leading to an increase in tibolone use in Korea as well.

The research team used data from the National Health Insurance Service to follow 356,160 women aged 50 and over diagnosed with menopause between 2004 and 2007 until 2017. Among them, 36,446 women who received hormone replacement therapy for more than one year were subdivided into three types of hormone therapy commonly prescribed in Korea: estrogen therapy, combined estrogen-progestogen therapy, and tibolone therapy, and the incidence rates of breast cancer for each were compared with a control group.

As a result, the group using tibolone therapy showed a significantly lower breast cancer incidence rate (1.42%) compared to the untreated group (1.87%). By age, in women in their 50s, combined estrogen-progestogen therapy showed a 1.74% incidence rate, and tibolone therapy showed 1.45%, both lower than the untreated group (2%). According to the duration of hormone replacement therapy, it was found that patients treated for more than five years showed a decrease in breast cancer incidence regardless of the type of hormone therapy.

The research team explained that this suggests that tibolone use in women in their 50s is associated with a reduction in breast cancer incidence and that long-term hormone replacement therapy for more than five years may suppress the occurrence of breast cancer.

Professor Kim Hye-in said, "Through this study, we were able to specifically confirm that hormone replacement therapy during menopause affects the occurrence of breast cancer," adding, "We hope that further research, such as elucidating the mechanism by which hormone replacement therapy reduces breast cancer incidence, will enable safer hormone treatments in the future."

This research result was published in the international academic journal Climacteric (IF 3.024).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.