If you are a woman taking a hormone therapy, you could be putting your health at risk. Almost every woman is aware that breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, but few know that lung cancer is the leading cancer death among women.
HRT (Hormone Therapy)) Linked to Lung Cancer
According to an article in The New York Times-Research section, a new study shows there is a link between hormone therapy and lung cancer. Based on secondary analysis of 16,608 menopausal women in good health, the study was on the effects of Prempro. Prempro is a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin. Progestin is a synthetic form of progesteron. The US pharmaceutical company Wyeth sells the hormone Prempro. Although 15% of postmenopausal women in the US are still taking hormonal therapy; the reports have shown that those numbers have gone down from previous years.
HRT Linked to Breast Cancer, Stroke and Heart Attack
Before the results of the study became public in 2002, as many as 6,000 women were taking menopause treatments. When the news broke out that the hormone therapy (or HRT) could cause heart attack, stroke and breast cancer, those numbers dropped almost in half. The product generated $1.1 billion last year, but they used to make $2 billion in 2001. In 2002 that health study ended, but those women were followed up as the years went on.
The study, conducted over a period of 5.5 years, searched specifically for lung cancer on the women who took hormonal therapy or placebo. For another two years, these women were on follow up visits to the doctor. Although there was no significant difference between the two groups in the rate of lung cancer, there were marked differences in the mortality rate.
After the diagnosis of lung cancer, the women who had hormonal therapy doubled their chances of dying. In other words, out of 16, 608 women split in two groups, there were 96 cases of non-small-cell lung cancer. Compare that with the 72 cases of women using placebo.
Study of Women on HRT and Smoking
The same study was started but this time it included women who smoked or never smoked. Making up the two groups were 10% women currently smoking, and 40% were past smokers. The remaining 50% were women who never smoked. They found the risk in women developing lung cancer was about the same. Except, once again, the number of women taking hormonal treatments were 61% more likely to die of lung cancer than women on placebo. There were 67 women on hormonal treatment that died, while only 39 women on placebo died. Percentage wise, the results showed that women who smoked, were on hormone therapy, which had lung cancer and died was 3.4%. Compare that to the 2.3% women smokers with lung cancer, but were not on hormone therapy.
Rowan Chlebowski, an oncologist at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, headed the research. He presented the findings at the biggest global cancer conference, ASCO or American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Although 15% of postmenopausal women in the US are still taking hormonal therapy, the reports have shown that number has gone down from previous years.
Therefore, if you are a woman on hormone therapy, reconsider the decision to continue HRT any longer. Even though the Wyeth Company has put warnings labels on their hormones, is that enough? They state that it could cause heart attack, stroke or breast cancer. Unfortunately, they did not mention that it could also cause lung cancer. There are more than 5,000 lawsuits filed against Wyeth, alleging that its hormones cause cancer.
Dr. Karen Reckamp, assistant professor of medicine at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California reports that there are more and more women being diagnosed with lung cancer and they never smoked. The link for this sudden increase is HRT.
According to an article on Bloomberg.com Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug maker based in New York, said that in January it would buy Wyeth for about $65 billion.
