There has been confusion regarding an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attack, blood clots, and stroke with the use of bioidentical hormones. This confusion was caused by the release of WHI trial results to the public. The study was done in 2002 on 16,000 post-menopausal women to evaluate the effects of hormones on cardiovascular, cancer, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s risk in postmenopausal women.
This was actually an expected outcome for this particular medication, which combines synthetic hormones: estrogen, oral horse estrogen, and synthetic progestin.
The undesirable effects observed in these studies were related to:
Unnatural and synthetic “hormones.”
Premarin, the most popular estrogen replacement therapy, is derived from pregnant horses and contains mostly estrogen and a number of equine (horse) estrogens that are not natural to humans. Provera is a synthetic progesterone called progestin.
Oral administration of estrogen.
When estrogen is administered orally, it must pass through the liver. This increases clotting factors and inflammatory protein (CRP), effects that aren’t observed with trans-dermal (skin) administration.
The natural hormone combinations found through bioidentical hormone replacement therapy have been shown to decrease the risks of stroke and heart attack by 50% (Premarin and Provera increase it) and reduce the risk of breast cancer by 80% (Premarin and Provera increase it). Natural, bioidentical hormones also reduce the risk of osteoporosis by 50%, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 80%, reduce the risk of osteoarthritis by 40%, and reduce the risk of colon cancer by 40%.
One of the largest studies to date comparing the risk of breast cancer with the use of natural bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormone replacement therapy demonstrates that natural bioidentical hormones have significantly less associated risk of breast cancer. This study published in a 2007 issue of Breast Cancer Research reported the association between various forms of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and the incidence of breast cancer in over 80,000 postmenopausal women who were followed for over eight postmenopausal years.
This study found that compared to women who never used any hormone replacement therapy, those who used estrogen-only (different preparations analyzed together) had an increased risk of breast cancer, that was 1.29 times those who never used estrogen. If a synthetic progestin was used in combination with estrogen, there was a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer compared to those on estrogen-only – or 1.69 times the risk of those who had never used estrogen.
If, however, a woman used natural progesterone in combination with estrogen, the increased risk of breast cancer was eliminated. In addition, estriol-containing products were found to have a further protective effect against breast cancers, resulting in a lower risk of breast cancer than even those who had never used any hormone replacement therapy. This study adds to the mass of previous medical literature that demonstrates the superior safety of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy compared to synthetic hormones.
A combination of natural estrogens, estriol, and estradiol have been shown to protect against breast cancer and reduce breast cancer risk. When this is added to natural progesterone’s powerful breast cancer risk reduction, one would expect a significant reduction in breast cancer in women on natural bioidentical hormone replacement therapy than in women on no therapy.
We believe our bioidentical hormone replacement therapy approach is more physiological and mimics nature. As such, it will not only relieve the symptoms of menopause but, very likely, can also improve overall health in menopausal women. Depending on a woman’s personal and family medical history, the bioidentical hormone doctors at Angel Longevity Center may recommend estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone for your menopausal nightmare.
Our hormone specialists will not only improve your quality of life, but we will also assess your risk of developing cardiovascular conditions or cancer in the future. The laboratory evaluation of hormones is very thorough and may include a blood test, a saliva test, or a 24-hour urine test for a comprehensive hormone profile.
Once we achieve balance with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, as a final check, we will require you to do a 24-hour urine test to evaluate your particular risk of breast cancer.
Dr. Mathur will determine if any nutritional supplementation or detoxification is required to modulate the metabolism of the hormones in your body by looking at 2:16 alpha hydroxyestrone ratio and estrogen quotient, as well as other metabolites.
Many factors interfere with hormone receptors and change the way a particular hormone is broken down in the body. This is properly assessed so as to further lower your risk of breast cancer. Getting your hormones balanced with our treatment plan actually reduces your risk by balancing even the breakdown products (metabolites) of these hormones effectively.