Menopausal Hormonal Therapy and Breast Cancer

Abstract

The most common treatment for menopausal syndrome is menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), however, the safety of MHT, due to the risk of developing and recurrent breast cancer (BC), is still a matter of debate. The review presents the results of randomized cohort studies of this issue. It has been shown that MHT increases the risk of developing breast cancer and disease recurrence after treatment. The risk of breast cancer developing in women receiving MHT depends on body mass index (BMI), duration of hormone use, and dose of drugs, and is greater in thin women compared with women with increased BMI, and also greater in estrogen–progestin combined MHT users compared with estrogen-only users. It was found that hormone-dependent forms of cancer developed more often in women using MHT, but by the time of diagnosis, the disease was found in more advanced stages and metastases in lymph nodes were found more often when compared with patients who did not use MHT. Risk of breast cancer recurrence is less with low doses of vaginal estrogen. An alternative option for the relief of menopausal disorders in breast cancer patients during and after treatment is using of pineal gland hormone melatonin, since, along with its anti-aging properties, it is able to suppress cancer at the stages of initiation, progression, and metastasis and has the ability to reduce the toxic effects of anticancer drugs simultaneously increasing their effectiveness.