Women taking HT had a significantly decreased incidence of fracture with long-term use .
Research ers found no strong evidence that HT has a clinical ly meaningful impact on the incidence of colorectal cancer .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS : Women with intolerable menopausal symptoms may wish to weigh the benefits of symptom relief against the small absolute risk of harm arising from short-term use of low-dose HT , provided they do not have specific contraindications .
HT may be unsuitable for some women , including those at increased risk of cardiovascular disease , increased risk of thromboembolic disease ( such as those with obesity or a history of venous thrombosis ) or increased risk of some types of cancer ( such as breast cancer , in women with a uterus ) .
The risk of endometrial cancer among women with a uterus taking oestrogen-only HT is well documented .
HT is not indicated for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia , nor for prevention of deterioration of cognitive function in postmenopausal women .
Although HT is considered effective for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis , it is generally recommended as an option only for women at significant risk for whom non-oestrogen therapies are unsuitable .
BACKGROUND : Hormone therapy ( HT ) is widely provided for control of menopausal symptoms and has been used for the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease , osteoporosis and  dementia in older women .
This is an up date d version of a Cochrane review first published in 2005 .
OBJECTIVES : To assess effects of long-term HT ( at least 1 year 's duration ) on mortality , cardiovascular outcomes , cancer , gallbladder disease , fracture and cognition in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women during and after cessation of treatment .
Increased risk of recurrence after hormone replacement therapy in breast cancer survivors.
BACKGROUND Hormone replacement therapy ( HT ) is known to increase the risk of breast cancer in healthy women , but its effect on breast cancer risk in breast cancer survivors is less clear . The r and omized HABITS study , which compared HT for menopausal symptoms with best management without hormones among women with previously treated breast cancer , was stopped early due to suspicions of an increased risk of new breast cancer events following HT . We present results after extended follow-up . METHODS HABITS was a r and omized , non-placebo-controlled noninferiority trial that aim ed to be at a power of 80 % to detect a 36 % increase in the hazard ratio ( HR ) for a new breast cancer event following HT . Cox models were used to estimate relative risks of a breast cancer event , the maximum likelihood method was used to calculate 95 % confidence intervals ( CIs ) , and chi(2 ) tests were used to assess statistical significance , with all P values based on two-sided tests . The absolute risk of a new breast cancer event was estimated with the cumulative incidence function . Most patients who received HT were prescribed continuous combined or sequential estradiol hemihydrate and norethisterone . RESULTS Of the 447 women r and omly assigned , 442 could be followed for a median of 4 years . Thirty-nine of the 221 women in the HT arm and 17 of the 221 women in the control arm experienced a new breast cancer event ( HR = 2.4 , 95 % CI = 1.3 to 4.2 ) . Cumulative incidences at 5 years were 22.2 % in the HT arm and 8.0 % in the control arm . By the end of follow-up , six women in the HT arm had died of breast cancer and six were alive with distant metastases . In the control arm , five women had died of breast cancer and four had metastatic breast cancer ( P = .51 , log-rank test ) . CONCLUSION After extended follow-up , there was a clinical ly and statistically significant increased risk of a new breast cancer event in survivors who took HT
Women taking HT had a significantly decreased incidence of fracture with long-term use .
Research ers found no strong evidence that HT has a clinical ly meaningful impact on the incidence of colorectal cancer .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS : Women with intolerable menopausal symptoms may wish to weigh the benefits of symptom relief against the small absolute risk of harm arising from short-term use of low-dose HT , provided they do not have specific contraindications .
HT may be unsuitable for some women , including those at increased risk of cardiovascular disease , increased risk of thromboembolic disease ( such as those with obesity or a history of venous thrombosis ) or increased risk of some types of cancer ( such as breast cancer , in women with a uterus ) .
The risk of endometrial cancer among women with a uterus taking oestrogen-only HT is well documented .
HT is not indicated for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia , nor for prevention of deterioration of cognitive function in postmenopausal women .
Although HT is considered effective for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis , it is generally recommended as an option only for women at significant risk for whom non-oestrogen therapies are unsuitable .
BACKGROUND : Hormone therapy ( HT ) is widely provided for control of menopausal symptoms and has been used for the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease , osteoporosis and  dementia in older women .
This is an up date d version of a Cochrane review first published in 2005 .
OBJECTIVES : To assess effects of long-term HT ( at least 1 year 's duration ) on mortality , cardiovascular outcomes , cancer , gallbladder disease , fracture and cognition in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women during and after cessation of treatment .