Menopausal women who use HRT are less likely to develop colon cancer, according to new research.
Hormone replacement was linked to a 55% lower risk of the cancer than those who did not use it, according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Those who started using HRT at the beginning of the menopause were 36% less likely to develop the cancer in the subsequent ten years than non-users, the study said.
Some 193 women among 34,433 users taking part in the study were diagnosed with colon cancer in comparison to 151 cases out of the 13,778 women who had never used HRT.
Despite factors such as age and weight, hormone replacement, used with either oestrogen alone or a combination of oestrogen and progestin, was linked to a lower colon cancer risk.
The beneficial effect of HRT was found to be stronger in women who had had a parent or sibling diagnosed with colon cancer.
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