March 4, 2008.
Risk of Breast Cancer with HRT No Big Deal?

This week in JAMA data from the Women's Health Initiative was published showing that a risk of breast cancer persisted after discontinuation of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for up to three years. The risk was 0.3% per year. One of the authors was quoted as saying "There is no reason for alarm. The absolute risk is of small magnitude." I thought that was pretty amazing. I mean does he know that prevention of heart attacks in men without heart disease with statins is on the order of about 0.5% per year? I don't see anyone saying that the benefit is "of small magnitude" for them? Instead if 4 out of 100 men on a statin have a heart attack versus 5 out of 100 on placebo they call it a 25% decrease in risk. That is the difference between absolute and relative risk reduction. In other words the power of marketing.



My book 'Before You Take That Pill: Why the Drug Industry May be Bad for Your Health: Risks and Side Effects You Won't Find on the Label of Commonly Prescribed Drugs, Vitamins, and Supplements' is now available at amazon and at local Borders and Barnes and Noble book stores.

Doug Bremner, MD, is a physician
and researcher in Atlanta GA
and author of Before You Take That Pill: Why the Drug Industry May be
Bad for Your Health: Risks and Side Effects You Won't Find on the Label of Commonly Prescribed
Drugs, Vitamins and Supplements






You are visitor number