The X Factor – Women’s Health Questions Answered
Q: So much attention has been paid to breast cancer, mammograms, and self-exams. Have we made any progress in slowing this disease down?
A: Although over 207,000 new cases of breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed among U.S. women in 2010, there has been some very encouraging news. As you may recall, the initial results from the Women’s Health Initiative trial were released in 2002 that showed that estrogen plus progestin had been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. After the release of this data, there was a large decline in postmenopausal hormone use.
Between 1990 and 1998, the rate of breast cancer increased by 1.7% each year. After 1998 breast cancer rates began to decline by 1% each year. In 2003, however, there was a sharp 7% drop in the rate of breast cancer. Many experts feel that the sudden decline in hormone use may have resulted in the significant decrease in breast cancer rates within such a short time interval.
Regarding mammograms, recently the longest-running breast cancer screening study ever conducted has shown that regular mammograms prevent deaths from breast cancer, and the number of lives saved increases over time. Now, 29 years after the study began, researchers found that the number of women saved from breast cancer goes up with each year of screening.
(1) Online resources: http://www.breastcancer.org/about_us/press_room/facts_figures.jsp
(2) Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL et al. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results from the Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002; 288:321-33.
(3) Ravdin P, Cronin K, Howlander N, et al. A Sharp Decrease in Breast Cancer Incidence in the United States in 2003. Proceedings from the 2006 annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Oral presentation December 14, 2006. Abstract #5.