Abstract
The relation of colorectal cancer and its subsites with use ofmenopausal hormones was evaluated in the United States among 40,464postmenopausal women, 41 to 80 years of age, who initially volunteered for anationwide breast-cancer screening program and were followed for an averageof 7.7 years. Ever-use of menopausal hormones was not associated with risk oftotal colorectal cancers (relative risk [RR] = 0.99, 95 percent confidenceinterval [CI] = 0.79-1.2) or cancers of the colon (RR = 1.1, CI = 0.81-1.6)or rectum (RR = 1.1, CI = 0.59-1.9). Recent hormone users, however, had asmall nonsignificant reduction in risk of colorectal cancer (RR = 0.78, CI =0.55-1.1), which was most pronounced for distal colon (RR = 0.68, CI =0.29-1.6) and rectal tumors (RR = 0.64, CI = 0.24-1.7). No effect wasobserved for former hormone users, and risk generally did not vary by timesince last use, type of regimen, or duration of use. However, the reducedrisk for recent users was stronger for users of five or more years'duration. These data show some lowering of colorectal cancer risk amongrecent menopausal hormone users of long duration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fraumeni JF Jr, Lloyd W, Smith EM, et al. Cancer mortality among nuns: role of marital status in etiology of neoplastic disease in women. JNCI 1969; 42: 455–68.
McMichael AJ, Potter JD. Reproduction, endogenous and exogenous sex hormones, and colon cancer: A review and hypothesis. JNCI 1980; 65: 1201–7.
Potter JD, Slattery ML, Bostick RM, Gapstur SM. Colon cancer: A review of the epidemiology. Epidemiol Rev 1993; 15: 499–545.
Potter JD, McMichael AJ. Large bowel cancer in women in relation to reproductive and hormonal factors: A case-control study. JNCI 1983; 71: 703–9.
Furner SE, Davis FG, Nelson RL, Haenszel W. A case-control study of large bowel cancer and hormone exposure in women. Cancer Res 1989; 49: 4936–40.
Jacobs EJ, White E, Weiss NS. Exogenous hormones, reproductive history, and colon cancer (Seattle, Washington, USA). Cancer Causes Control 1994; 5: 359–66.
Peters RK, Pike MC, Chang WWL, Mack TM. Reproductive factors and colon cancers. Br J Cancer 1990; 61: 741–8.
Risch HA, Howe GR. Menopausal hormone use and colorectal cancer in Saskatchewan: A record linkage cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 1995; 4: 21–8.
Bostick RM, Potter JD, Kushi LH, et al. Sugar, meat, and fat intake, and non-dietary risk factors for colon cancer incidence in Iowa women (United States). Cancer Causes Control 1994; 5: 38–52.
Chute CG, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Rosner B, Speizer FE. A prospective study of reproductive history and exogenous estrogens on the risk of colorectal cancer in women. Epidemiology 1991; 2: 201–7.
11. Weiss NS, Daling JR, Chow WH. Incidence of cancer of the large bowel in women in relation to reproductive and hormonal factors. JNCI 1981; 67: 57–60.
Wu AH, Paganini-Hill A, Ross RK, Henderson BE. Alcohol, physical activity and other risk factors for colorectal cancer: A prospective study. Br J Cancer 1987; 55: 687–94.
Davis FG, Furner SE, Persky V, Koch M. The influence of parity and exogenous female hormones on the risk of colorectal cancer. Int J Cancer 1989; 43: 587–90.
Gerhardsson de Verdier M, London S. Reproductive factors, exogenous female hormones, and colorectal cancer by subsite. Cancer Causes Control 1992; 3: 355–60.
Newcomb PA, Storer BE. Postmenopausal hormone use and risk of large-bowel cancer. JNCI 1995; 87: 1067–71.
Marcus PM, Newcomb PA, Young T, Storer BE. The association of reproductive and menstrual characteristics and colon and rectal cancer risk in Wisconsin women. Ann Epidemiol 1995; 5: 303–9.
Grodstein F, Martinez ME, Giovanucci EL, et al. Postmenopausal hormone use and colorectal cancer in the Nurses' Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143: S63.
18. Kampman E, Potter JD, Slattery ML, Caan BJ, Edwards S. Hormone replacement therapy, reproductive history, and colon cancer: a US multi-center case-control study. Cancer Causes Control 1997; 8: 146–58.
Jacobson JS, Neugut AI, Garbowski GC, et al. Reproductive risk factors for colorectal adenomatous polyps (New York City, NY, United States). Cancer Causes Control 1995; 6: 513–8.
Calle EE, Miracle-McMahill, Thun MJ, Heath CW. Estrogen replacement therapy and risk of fatal colon cancer in a prospective cohort of postmenopausal women. JNCI 1995; 87: 517–23.
. Sturgeon SR, Schairer C, Brinton LA, Pearson T, Hoover RN. Evidence of a healthy estrogen user survivor effect. Epidemiology 1995; 6: 227–31.
World Health Organization. International Classification Diseases, Ninth Revision. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 1977.
Percy C, Stanek E, Gloeckler L. Accuracy of cancer death certificates and its effect on cancer mortality statistics. Am J Public Health 1981; 71: 242–50.
Slattery ML, Kerber RA. Family history of cancer and colon cancer risk: the Utah population database. JNCI 1994; 86: 1618–26.
Schairer C, Byrne C, Keyl PM, Brinton LA, Sturgeon SR, Hoover RN. Menopausal estrogen and estrogen-progestin replacement therapy and risk of breast cancer (United States). Cancer Causes Control 1994; 5: 491–500.
Barrett-Connor E. Postmenopausal estrogen and prevention bias. Ann Intern Med 1991; 115: 455–6.
Barrett-Connor E. Postmenopausal estrogen and prevention bias. Ann Intern Med 1991; 115: 455–6.
Ahlquist DA, Wieand HS, Moertel CG, et al. Accuracy of fecal occult blood screening for colorectal neoplasia. JAMA 1993; 269: 1262–7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Troisi, R., Schairer, C., Chow, WH. et al. A prospective study of menopausal hormones and risk of colorectal cancer (United States). Cancer Causes Control 8, 130–138 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018455810238
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018455810238