Related Experiment Videos
Mammographic breast density during hormone replacement therapy: differences according to treatment
E Lundström1, B Wilczek, Z von Palffy
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Objective:
Our purpose was to investigate the effects of various hormone replacement regimens on mammographic breast density.
Study Design:
Mammographic density was recorded in women participating in a population-based screening program. All women were nonusers of hormone replacement therapy at first mammogram and thereafter reported continuous use of the same treatment: estrogen alone (n = 50) or estrogen in cyclic (n = 75) or continuous (n = 50) combination with progestogen. Mammographic density was quantified according to the Wolfe classification.
Results:
An increase in mammographic density was much more common among women receiving continuous combination hormone replacement therapy (52%) than among those receiving cyclic (13%) and estrogen-only (18%) treatment. The increase in density was apparent already at first visit after the start of hormone replacement therapy. There was little change in mammographic status during long-term follow-up.
Conclusion:
Regimens of hormone replacement therapy were shown to have different effects on the normal breast. There is an urgent need to clarify the biologic nature and significance of a change in mammographic density during treatment and, in particular, its relation to symptoms and breast cancer risk.