NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study: Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Ovarian Cancer Risk
Summary
In an effort to clarify conflicting data and opinions regarding the risks of ovarian cancer among women using menopausal hormone therapy, the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study surveyed 97,638 women between the ages of 50 to 71 about their health status and experience. The participants, who completed two questionnaires in 1995-96 and in 1996-1997, had no previous history of cancer and resided in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Louisiana, and metropolitan Atlanta and Detroit.
Within this large group, women using menopausal hormone therapy had elevated risks of developing ovarian cancer when they were compared to women using no therapy. Both unopposed estrogen therapy, in which the patient takes only estrogen and sequential/continuous therapy involving the use of estrogen in combination with progestin, were studied.
- Women with a hysterectomy who used estrogen alone for 10 or more years had a higher risk of ovarian cancer than those who used no hormone therapy.
- Women without a hysterectomy using sequential estrogen plus progestin or continuous estrogen and progestin for four or more years had a higher risk of ovarian cancer than women who used no hormone therapy.
How long unopposed estrogen was used appeared to be more important than how recently it was used. Millions of US women have used unopposed estrogens, but only a minority have used them for long durations.
View the abstract or visit the study website to learn more about the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.
Further information about the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study may also be obtained by contacting Nancy Wood of AARP at media@aarp.org or 202-434-2583.
