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Factors Modifying the Association Between Hormone-Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer Risk

  • Cancer
  • Published:
European Journal of Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives: Hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) is an established risk factor for breast cancer. HRT users are different from non-users with respect to socio-economic and other characteristics. There may be women where the HRT-related risk could be modulated by other factors.

Methods: We conducted a population-based case–control study with 688 breast cancer cases and 724 controls to characterize HRT users and to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for HRT use and potentially risk modifying factors.

Results: In women aged 50 years and older, 58% of controls and 61% of cases ever used HRT. Among women in natural menopause, HRT use for 10 years and more years was associated with an increased breast cancer risk (OR 1.79, 95% CI, 1.12–2.87), but not among women in surgical menopause (OR 0.61, 95% CI, 0.09–4.17). In the subgroup of women with a positive family history of breast cancer, each year of HRT use increased the risk by 1.22 (95% CI, 1.02–1.47). Another subgroup comprised women with at least 10 diagnostic mammograms (OR 4.04, 95% CI, 1.10–14.81 for using HRT 10 or more years).

Conclusions: Long-term HRT use was associated with a breast cancer risk in women with natural menopause. Our findings suggest that this risk may be increased in women with a positive family history of breast cancer and in women who received frequent diagnostic mammographic screens.

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Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

COR:

Crude odds ratio

EPIC:

European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

HRT:

Hormone-replacement therapy

OC:

Oral contraceptives

OR:

Odds ratio

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Berufsgenossenschaftliches Forschungsinstitut für Arbeitsmedizin (BGFA), Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bürkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Gemany

    Beate Pesch, Volker Harth, Sylvia Rabstein, Christiane Pierl & Thomas Brüning

  2. Johanniter-Krankenhaus und Medizinische Universitäts-Poliklinik Bonn, Germany

    Yon Ko

  3. Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch-Institut für Klinische Pharmakologie (IKP), Stuttgart, Germany

    Hiltrud Brauch, Christian Baisch & Christina Justenhoven

  4. Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Ute Hamann & Christian Baisch

  5. Institut für Pathologie, Universitätsklinikum, Bonn, Germany

    Hans-Peter Fischer

  6. Institut für Umweltmedizinische Forschung (IUF), Düsseldorf, Germany

    Beate Pesch & Ulrich Ranft

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  1. Beate Pesch
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  2. Yon Ko
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  12. Thomas Brüning
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Correspondence to Beate Pesch.

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Pesch, B., Ko, Y., Brauch, H. et al. Factors Modifying the Association Between Hormone-Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer Risk. Eur J Epidemiol 20, 699–711 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-005-0032-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-005-0032-0

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