HRT Can Lead to Abnormal Mammograms, Biopsies

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Feb. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Women who take combined hormone therapy for about five years have a higher risk of abnormal mammograms and breast biopsies.

This, in turn, may decrease the effectiveness of these methods of detecting breast cancer, according to a new study published in the Feb. 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Women need to be aware of the risks, and it's not just risk of increased breast cancer. It's a risk of possibly having abnormal mammograms and really being tortured by them," said Dr. Kristin Byrne, chief of breast imaging at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who was not involved with the study. "It's a whole slew of things they need to be aware of before making a decision to go on hormone therapy."

source article: Yahoo News