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Short-term use of HRT therapy carries increased ovarian cancer risk

Research

Taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the menopause, even for just a few years, is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing the two most common types of ovarian cancer, a group led by Oxford University researchers have found.

The detailed meta-analysis of evidence looked at 52 epidemiological studies, involving a total of 21,488 women with ovarian cancer mainly from North America, Europe and Australia. The results, published in The Lancet, indicate that women who use HRT for just a few years are about 40% more likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who have never taken HRT.

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