Hormone therapy and large bowel cancer revisited

Many studies have investigated potential links between postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) and the risk for colorectal cancer. Most of these studies showed some reduction in risk, but association with the exact grade of the tumor or with cancer mortality is less consistent. Activation of estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) related cellular pathways is probably the pathophysiological basis for this HT effect, since ERβs exert antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic signaling, inhibit inflammatory signaling and modulate the tumor microenvironment. To note, the impact on health may not be substantial as the absolute numbers point at the order of only a few saved cases per 10 000 women per year of hormone use.