The UN's cancer agency has added hormone pills to the list of substances that can cause cancer.
In a review of existing research, the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared Friday that based on consistent evidence emerging from studies published over the last few years, it has reclassified hormonal menopause therapy from "possibly carcinogenic" to "carcinogenic."
The declaration from the World Health Organization, which is widely regarded as the international authority on which substances cause cancer, comes after several recent high-profile studies linking combination hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, to breast cancer.
The analysis, conducted by a panel of 21 scientists, concluded that estrogen and progestin menopause therapy also slightly increases the risk of endometrial cancer when progestin is taken fewer than 10 days a month.
Research has indicated that the chance of a woman developing breast cancer during her life is one in seven.
A landmark study used in the UN agency's analysis suggested that long-term use of the hormones raises the lifetime risk of breast cancer to about one in six.
The UN cancer agency also concluded that a common type of contraceptive pill, taken by about 10 percent of women of reproductive age, increases the risk of more types of cancer than previously thought.
The agency had previously determined that the pill combining estrogen and progestin can cause liver cancer. Now, further research has demonstrated that it also slightly increases the risk of breast and cervical cancer, the agency said.
"It's a complicated picture," said Vincent Cogliano, head of the agency's department that evaluates the cancer risk of chemicals.
The increased cancer risk from the birth control pill was small and transient, the analysis found.
While experts did not dispute the agency's conclusions on hormone replacement therapy, some were less convinced that current evidence proves the contraceptive pill is carcinogenic and urged caution in interpreting the conclusions.
"I think it's flat-out wrong," said Dr. Steven Goldstein, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University Medical Center. "Most of the studies were using pills two-and-a-half to four times the dosage that I'm using today in most women."
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was