With recent emphasis toward early detection and with improved therapies, breast cancer is, increasingly, being diagnosed at a localised and curable stage More women, are therefore, entering menopause after successful treatment for breast cancer. In these former patients hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is generally avoided because of clinical concerns that oestrogen may reactivate the disease. Observational data on breast cancer survivors who have elected to use HRT do not indicate that it has a pronounced adverse effect. At the same time, data from prospective, randomised studies are not available to prove the safety of HRT in this population. Until such time, HRT should be considered with great caution in breast cancer survivors.
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