A major new study claims women who take the most commonly used form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are nearly three times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who do not.
The Institute of Cancer Research looked at six years of data for 39,000 menopausal women, of whom 775 had developed the illness. It found those taking combined oestrogen-progestogen HRT – the most popular form – were 2.74 times more likely to develop breast cancer than those not using any HRT at all.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
America's academic brain drain has begunIN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration targets universities and teachers, educators are eying greener academic pastures elsewhere — and other nations are starting to take notice
-
Why is Musk targeting a Wisconsin Supreme Court race?Today's Big Question His money could help conservatives, but it could also produce a Democratic backlash
-
How to pay off student loansThe explainer Don't just settle for the default repayment plan
-
The dark side of the contraceptive coilUnder the Radar Study linking hormonal IUD to increased breast cancer risk adds to growing concerns about whether the benefits of the coil outweigh the risks
-
Anastrozole: the daily breast cancer pill tipped to save thousands of livesThe Explainer Existing treatment approved for preventative use under 'pioneering' NHS drug repurposing scheme
-
Good health news: seven surprising medical discoveries made in 2023In Depth A fingerprint test for cancer, a menopause patch and the shocking impacts of body odour are just a few of the developments made this year
-
Neanderthal gene ‘caused up to a million Covid deaths’Speed Read Genetic tweak found in one in six Britons means cells in the lungs are slower to launch defences
-
Legalising assisted dying: a complex, fraught and ‘necessary’ debateSpeed Read The Assisted Dying Bill – which would allow doctors to assist in the deaths of terminally ill patients – has relevance for ‘millions’
-
Vaccinating children: it’s decision time for the health secretary as kids return to schoolSpeed Read Sajid Javid readying NHS England to roll out jab for children over 12, amid fears infections will rocket
-
‘Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat’: exploring Israel’s fourth Covid waveSpeed Read Two months ago, face masks were consigned to bins. Now the country is in a ‘unique moment of epidemiological doubt’
-
Thousands told to self-isolate in Covid app pinging error, claims Whitehall whistleblowerSpeed Read Source says Matt Hancock was privately told of the issue shortly before he resigned as health secretary
