Hormone Replacement Therapy and Accuracy of Mammographic Screening

Abstract

This study provides evidence that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may render mammographic screening less specific, and some but not all studies have reported reduced sensitivity of mammography in women who take HRT. Because women are increasingly turning to HRT, this study examined its effects on mammographic detection of breast cancer in 103,770 Australian women who were screened for the first time in 1994 and who at that time reported no personal history of breast cancer and had no breast lump or abnormal discharge. Screening was offered to women aged 40 years and older at 2-year intervals. Just more than one-fourth of women in the study population (27 percent) were using HRT at the time..