Estrogen replacement therapy in breast cancer survivors

Objective: To determine whether estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) adversel y affected outcome of breast cancer survivors. Method: A prospective descri ptive study of all breast cancer survivors who requested ERT because of int ractable menopausal symptoms. All patients presented voluntarily as gynecol ogical outpatients and were all given oral continuous opposed ERT: 20 prema rin and medroxyprogesterone and four tibolone. Results: Twenty-four patient s who had previously been treated for breast cancer 8-91 months prior to th eir initiating ERT have been observed for 24-44 months. There were 15 patie nts with stage 1, eight with stage 2 and one with stage 4 breast cancer. Th e mean age of the patients at commencement of ERT was 48 years (range 42-61 ). Two patients had a biopsy of a suspicious breast nodule: both of which w ere benign. There have not been any recurrences to date. Conclusion: Breast cancer survivors did not have their outcome adversely affected by ERT duri ng an observation period of 24-44 months. (C) 1999 international Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.