Since the average age of diagnosis for melanoma, the early 50s, is also the average age for menopause, the question about the safety of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after melanoma is a common one. For years, there have been concerns that estrogen might increase the risk for developing malignant melanoma before (pregnancy and birth control pills) and after menopause (HRT). Two studies that addressed this question, one from Denmark and one from Sweden, found no association between HRT and the risk of developing melanoma. Regarding the use of HRT after a melanoma has been removed, a recent study from Scotland followed 200 women who had surgery for stage 1 and 2 malignant melanoma. Decisions about HRT were made by the women and their gynecologists. It may be that women with less invasive cancers ended up on HRT, but at least they did not find any increase in recurrences or deaths with HRT.
Whether or not you should continue HRT is something you and your physicians (your surgeon and the doctor who prescribed the HRT) should discuss. Issues to be raised include why you are taking HRT and the stage of your cancer. While the studies above provide some evidence to support the safety of HRT after melanoma, they were not randomized controlled trials with large numbers of people. Your physicians might also discuss some alternative treatments to HRT or ways to shorten the time you take HRT.
British Journal of Cancer (2004) 90, 770ï€772.
