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Progestin v Progesterone: BC Risk
02/19/2025

This study was done off the premise that estrogen and progesTIN (not progesTERONE) causes an increased risk of breast cancer in menopause. Let's take a closer look!

  1. Background:
    • Hormone therapy during menopause that includes estrogen and synthetic progestins is known to increase the risk of breast cancer.
    • Scientists are unsure whether natural progesterone (instead of synthetic progestins) might be a safer option.
    • There is also some evidence that progesterone and synthetic progestins affect heart health differently, but it's unclear if this leads to actual differences in heart disease risk.
  2. Study Goal:
    • Researchers reviewed existing studies to compare the effects of progesterone vs. synthetic progestins (both used with estrogen) on breast cancer and heart disease risk.
  3. Methods:
    • They searched multiple medical databases for relevant studies up to May 2016.
    • Out of 3,410 studies, they selected three (two cohort studies and one case-control study) that included 86,881 postmenopausal women aged around 59 years, with follow-ups ranging from 3 to 20 years.
  4. Results:
    • There was no data on heart disease risk.
    • Women who used progesterone with estrogen had a lower risk of breast cancer compared to those using synthetic progestins with estrogen.
    • The risk was 33% lower for progesterone users (relative risk 0.67).
  5. Conclusion:
    • The limited observational studies suggest that using natural progesterone with estrogen might be a safer option for breast cancer risk than synthetic progestins.

Learn more: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13643-016-0294-5