Volume 77, Number 8
A young woman with a breast mass:
What every internist should know
1. A 50-year-old perimenopausal woman who has severe hot flashes asks your opinion about hormone replacement therapy and the risk of breast cancer. What should you tell her?
- There is no increased risk with estrogen and progesterone patches, and she should start using them immediately
- The risk of breast cancer is elevated only in women with a family history of first-degree relatives with breast cancer and not in all women
- Based on the Women’s Health Initiative study, hormonal replacement therapy with estrogen and progesterone will increase her risk of breast cancer by about 26%
- Based on the Women’s Health Initiative study, the risk of breast cancer is increased by 5%; however, this should not be a major concern as long as she has annual mammography, which should be able to detect early breast cancer
