The Million Women Study: a licence to kill other investigations?
The Million Women Study (MWS), published in the summer of 2003, has suggested unexpected high risks for invasive breast cancer in women using postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT). Recent reports from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that long-term combined PHT is associated with a small risk increase for invasive breast cancer, but not for death due to breast cancer. The observational design of the MWS has made this study subject to several biases, that can easily explain the discrepancy with the observations done in RCTs and several other large observational studies. It is concluded that the hormone fear that was caused by the MWS, and augmented by some professionals and the media, was unjustifiable.
van der Mooren
M J
MJ
Project Ageing Women, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, VU University Medical Center, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. mj.vandermooren@vumc.nl
Kenemans
P
P
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017698:Postmenopause; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design