HRT study halted due to cancer, heart disease risks
A large clinical trial of the hormone replacement therapy drug Prempro has come to a halt after five years of data showed that it caused an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. Scientists conducting the HRT study have canceled plans to continue it for an additional three years, saying that any potential benefits from Prempro are outweighed by the risks it poses.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 1% of women who take Prempro will experience adverse side effects. Even more seriously, it found that women who were given an estrogen/progestin HRT combination increased their risk of heart disease by 29%, of breast cancer by 26% and of stroke by 41%.
An editorial that accompanied the published study said that doctors should immediately stop prescribing the estrogen/progestin HRT combination. “The whole purpose of healthy women taking long-term estrogen/progestin therapy is to preserve health and prevent disease,” wrote Drs. Suzanne Fletcher and Graham Colditz. “The results of this study provide strong evidence that the opposite is happening.”
Dr. Ross Prentice, a co-author of the study, said that doctors should also avoid prescribing Prempro for the short-term relief of menopause symptoms. “We did see evidence of increased risk of coronary heart disease quite early,” he says. “If Prempro is used for the relief of menopausal symptoms, the time period should be as short as possible.”