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Hormone Replacement Therapy vs. Hormonal Treatment: What's the Difference?

Summary & Participants

Hormone replacement therapy was once used to help women combat the side effects of menopause. But recent studies indicate it may do more harm than good. On the other hand hormonal treatment of breast cancer is very different and can be very useful. In this therapy, doctors attempt to block the production of hormones that are feeding the growth of the cancer. Find out exactly what distinguishes these two therapies from one another.

Medically Reviewed On: July 02, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DEBU TRIPATHY, MD: Many times there are medical terms that are similar and might be confusing, so one has to be very clear and say upfront exactly what they mean by hormone treatment or hormone replacement therapy.

GENEROSA GRANA, MD: The first time that a patient hears the word "hormonal treatment for breast cancer," they often raise their eyebrow, "But I've heard hormone replacement is not acceptable now that I've gotten the diagnosis." So it can be a teaching process that you need to embark on.

ANNOUNCER: While the phrases sound the same, what they do couldn't be more different.

GENEROSA GRANA, MD: Hormonal treatment for breast cancer is the utilization of a variety of hormonal agents that target the cancer. And this is applicable only to cancers that are estrogen or progesterone receptor positive, meaning their growth is dependent on the estrogen pathway.

DEBU TRIPATHY, MD: So the treatment is actually against estrogen, either removing the estrogen altogether or, in some way, counteracting the effects of estrogen on cells.

Hormone replacement therapy refers to the adding back of estrogen for women who are having side effects of the loss of estrogen that they have during menopause. Symptoms like hot flashes, irritability and things like that are sometimes helped in the short term with replacement therapy, that is, giving estrogen back.

ANNOUNCER: Hormone replacement therapy was once thought of as a popular way to counteract the effects of menopause and prevent certain diseases in older women. But one recent study in particular has changed how we now think of this therapy.

GENEROSA GRANA, MD: The Women's Health Initiative study is a large trial that has been conducted in the United States in postmenopausal women where half of the women received hormone replacement; the other half did not receive hormone replacement.

And it was sobering because it showed that not only are we seeing an increased risk of breast cancer, be it small, but we are also seeing an increased risk of heart disease, an increased risk of clotting resulting in deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. So these things that were once thought to be preventable with estrogen are now being shown to be exacerbated by estrogen.

ANNOUNCER: Currently hormone replacement therapy is used very carefully and for a limited time.

GENEROSA GRANA, MD: Now gynecologists, primary care providers, internists are really looking carefully at who they give hormone replacement to. They are very willing to use it for the short term in a woman who is having symptoms of menopause that need to be managed. But no longer are they blindly putting all women on just because of its potential preventive benefits.

DEBU TRIPATHY, MD: To use it long term in hopes of lowering the risk of heart disease at the current time is simply not supported by the findings of the recent studies.

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