The average age is about 60. A woman's risk of developing endometrial cancer is related to her lifetime exposure to the female hormone, estrogen. Anything that increases a woman's exposure to estrogen also increases her risk of endometrial cancer. To offset this detrimental effect of estrogen replacement therapy, women now take a combination of progesterone and estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms. This combination is called hormone replacement therapy.
Progesterone balances the effects of estrogen exposure.
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