Quoted from http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/10/hormone-and-breast-cancer-what-women-should-consider/
Hormones and breast cancer: What women should consider
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Over the years, numerous studies have shown that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. But to many women, questions about side effects, hormone combinations and length of hormone use are still unanswered, causing confusion. And some continue to take hormones to relieve menopausal symptoms because they don't know where they fall in the HRT spectrum.
In an attempt to clarify the risks versus the benefits, a report published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, and conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California, looked at data from a large trial group, called the California Teachers Study. Investigators were particularly interested in the more than 2,800 women in the study who were diagnosed with breast cancer.
When looking at hormone use, investigators found women who reported using just estrogen therapy for 15 years or more had a 19 percent greater risk of breast cancer compared with women who never used hormone therapy. And for women who used anestrogen and progestin combination or EPT for more than 15 years, their risk of developing breast cancer jumped to 83 percent.