Inje University Reports Findings in Breast Cancer (Breast cancer risk association with postmenopausal hormone therapy: Health Insurance Database in South Korea-based cohort study): Oncology – Breast Cancer

Insurance Daily News

2024 JAN 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Oncology - Breast Cancer is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Seoul, South Korea, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Although many physicians have been concerned that the menopausal hormones used currently in clinical practice may affect the risk of breast cancer, there are currently few informative updated studies about the associations between menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and the risk of breast cancer. This study aims to evaluate the association between the risk of breast cancer and MHT using the National Health Insurance Database in South Korea (HISK) cohort between 2002 and 2019 retrospectively.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Inje University, “Postmenopausal women over 40 years of age from 2003 to 2011 were selected as the subject population, and their follow-up data were collected until 2019. We analyzed the risk and mortality of breast cancer according to the type of MHT received, namely, tibolone, combined estrogen plus progestin by manufacturer (CEPM), oral estrogen, combined estrogen plus progestin by physician (CEPP), or topical estrogen. The risk of breast cancer increased in the CEPM group [hazard ratio (HR) 1.439, 95% CI 1.374-1.507, P-value < .001] in comparison with the non-MHT group. However, no significant associations were found between the use of tibolone, oral estrogen, CEPP, or topical estrogen and breast cancer risk in comparison with the non-MHT group (HR 0.968, 95% CI 0.925-1.012; HR 1.002, 95% CI 0.929-1.081; HR 0.929, 95% CI 0.75-1.15; HR 1.139, 95% CI 0.809-1.603). The mortality rate from breast cancer is lower in the MHT group in comparison with the non-MHT group, indicating that significant associations were found for tibolone, CEPM, and oral estrogen (HR 0.504, 95% CI 0.432-0.588; HR 0.429, 95% CI 0.352-0.522; HR 0.453 95% CI 0.349-0.588, P-value < .001). This study suggests that the risk of breast cancer is increased by drugs in the CEPM group but not by tibolone, oral estrogen, CEPP, or topical estrogen.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The mortality rate from breast cancer is lower with MHT (tibolone, CEPM, oral estrogen) than without MHT.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Breast cancer risk association with postmenopausal hormone therapy: Health Insurance Database in South Korea-based cohort study. European Journal of Endocrinology, 2024;190(1):1-11. European Journal of Endocrinology can be contacted at: Oxford Univ Press, Great Clarendon St, Oxford OX2 6DP, England.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Taeran Kim, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sanggye Paik Hospital, School of Medicine, Inje University, Seoul, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include Jin-Sung Yuk, Hyunjin Cho and Geumhee Gwak.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvad168. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.