title: No evidence for variation in colorectal cancer risk associated with different types of postmenopausal hormone therapy.
abstract: Little is known about the effects of various types, modes, and routes of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) among postmenopausal women. We conducted a population-based case-control study with validation of self-reported hormone use and no upper age limit. In 1,456 postmenopausal women aged 45-94 years (546 cases, 910 controls), the use of HRT was associated with reduction in CRC risk among ever users (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.65, 95% confidence interval 0.50-0.84), current users, and recent users. There was no evidence that risk reduction among current users varies by age. Risk reduction was seen both in estrogen-only therapy (0.42, 0.23-0.78) and in combination therapy (0.60, 0.41-0.87), the latter regardless of the mode of therapy, whether with hormone patches (0.40, 0.17-0.90) or with oral tablets (0.59, 0.39-0.90). In combination with estrogen, progestagens of the norethisterone and levonorgestrel families were associated with strong reduction in CRC risk.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany. m.hoffmeister@dkfz.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoffmeister
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Raum
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krtschil
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang-Claude
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brenner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004333:Drug Administration Routes; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D012307:Risk Factors