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Unlike estrogen-progestin hormone therapy (HT), estrogen alone does not raise risk for breast cancer; however, whether estrogen-only HT affects breast cancer detection is unknown. Investigators from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) sought to clarify the effect of estrogen HT (conjugated equine estrogen; 0.625 mg daily) versus placebo on screening mammogram findings (recommendations for short-interval follow-up imaging) and likelihood of clinically indicated breast biopsies.
At 5 years, women in the estrogen group were more likely than those in the placebo group to have screening mammography findings that warranted short-interval follow-up (31% of 5310 vs. 22% of 5429; P<0.001). However, incidence of mammograms that were suggestive or high…