Estrogen Replacement Therapy in Breast Cancer Survivors
A Time for Change
- Melody A. Cobleigh, MD;
- Robert F. Berris, MD;
- Trudy Bush, PhD, MHS;
- Nancy E. Davidson, MD;
- Nicholas J. Robert, MD;
- Joseph A. Sparano, MD;
- Douglas C. Tormey, MD, PhD;
- William C. Wood;
- Breast Cancer Committees of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group;
- Robert F. Berris, MD;
- Melody A. Cobleigh, MD;
- Nancy E. Davidson, MD;
- John Fetting, MD;
- Rebecca S. Gelman, PhD;
- Donna S. Neuberg, DSc;
- Kennedy Gilchrist, MD;
- Lori J. Goldstein, MD;
- Brenda B. Hopper, MS, ECOG;
- Lori Hughes, MA;
- William C. Wood, MD;
- Krystyna D. Kiel, MD;
- Worta J. McCaskill-Stevens, MD;
- George W. Sledge, Jr, MD;
- Steven Richman, MD;
- Nicholas J. Robert, MD;
- Joseph A. Sparano, MD;
- Thomas J. Smith, MD;
- Douglas C. Tormey, MD, PhD
- Hematology-Oncology Associates, Denver, Colo; Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Ill; The Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, Md; Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Mass; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa; Denver Colo; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga; Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill; Indiana University, Indianapolis; Sylvester Comprehensive Caner Center, Miami, Fla; Fairfax Oncology Associates, Annandale, Va; Albert Einstein Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Fla; ECOG Operations Office, Denver, Colo.
- From the Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Ill (Dr Coblaigh); Hematology-Oncology Associates, Denver, Colo (Dr Berris); The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (Dr Bush), and The Johns Hopkins Oncology Center (Dr Davidson), Baltimore, Md; Fairfax Oncology Associates, Annandale, Va (Dr Robert); Albert Einstein Cancer Center, New York, NY (Dr Sparano); Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Operations Office, Denver, Colo (Dr Tormey); and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga (Mr Wood).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
POSTMENOPAUSAL women often experience annoying and sometimes debilitating menopausal symptoms, and breast cancer survivors are no exception. Hot flashes, dyspareunia, atrophic vaginitis with attendant urinary tract symptoms, sleep disturbance, and mood change are among these symptoms. Coronary artery disease and osteoporosis may be more insidious, but potentially fatal consequences of menopausal estrogen decline. Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) has been shown to ameliorate these problems,1,2 and as informed consumers, breast cancer survivors are increasingly inquiring about and/or requesting ERT.3
There are more breast cancer survivors alive now than ever before, so their nononcologic health problems are a growing concern. A dramatic rise in the incidence rates of breast cancer occurred in the United States between 1982 and 1987, presumably because of increased screening.4 The incidence of noninvasive and of small, invasive, axillary nodenegative breast cancers rose concurrently.4 Five-year survival rates for breast cancer patients also have been
Footnotes
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A list of members of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Breast Cancer Committees appears at the end of the article.
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Reprint requests to the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Section of Medical Oncology, Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Suite 821, Professional Bldg 1, 1725 W Harrison, Chicago, IL 60612 (Dr Cobleigh).
