Study finds no increased glioma risk with hormone therapy use

It's not easy being a woman. Just look at the statistics. Women are more likely to have such debilitating conditions as osteoporosis, migraines, Alzheimer disease, depression, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors. Sex hormones are often blamed. However, a new study suggests no link between hormone therapy (HT) and common brain tumors known as gliomas. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

The debate over the risks and benefits of HT has been ongoing for more than 2 decades. Key to the debate are possible effects on brain and breast health, as well as cancer risks, which counter the proven benefits of hormones in alleviating such common menopause symptoms as hot flashes, mood swings, and vaginal dryness. Glioma, a common brain malignancy with limited effective treatments, is one type of cancer that consistently shows a sex disparity of roughly 6:1. It has been speculated that the disparity is a result of the potential contribution of both exogenous and endogenous sex hormones.

Previous smaller studies have yielded inconsistent findings concerning the relationship between HT and glioma risk. However, a new large-scale study that analyzed data from more than 75,000 women and included a median follow-up period of nearly 12 years suggests no significant association between HT use and glioma risk. Similarly, no significant associations were found when considering HT status or duration of use. Data was gathered as part of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

This study found that, although there is a known sex difference in the incidence of gliomas, with women being six times more likely to develop the disease compared with men, there does not appear to be an association between glioma and hormone therapy use in postmenopausal women. However, larger prospective studies with longer duration of follow-up are needed to confirm these results."

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, Medical Director, The Menopause Society