Is Hormone Therapy Safe for BRCA-Mutation Carriers?

Risk for breast cancer was lower for postmenopausal carriers who received hormone therapy than for those who did not.

Women with BRCA1 or 2 mutations account for about 3% of cases of invasive breast cancer (JAMA 1998; 279:915). Carriers also have lifetime breast cancer risk as high as 80% (Am J Hum Genet 1998; 62:676 and Am J Hum Genet 2003; 72:1117), although prevention strategies, including surgical oophorectomy before menopause, significantly reduce risk for disease. Prior studies have shown that hormone therapy (HT), particularly estrogen plus progestin, is associated with increased risk for breast cancer (Arch Intern Med 2008; 168:370), but whether use of estrogen alone increases risk is unclear.

To assess further the risks for breast cancer among women who received HT, investigators conducted a multinational, case-control study of more than 6000 postm…

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)