Impact of use of hormone replacement therapy on false positive recall in the NHS breast screening programme: results from the million women study

Abstract

About half of the women attending the NHS breast screening programme have used hormone replacement therapy.1 Although previous studies have reported that use of hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of being recalled after mammography for further assessment, with no subsequent diagnosis of breast cancer (“false positive recall”), the effect of different patterns of use is unclear.2 Relative risk of false positive recall in postmenopausal women in relation to time since last use of hormone replacement therapy. (Relative risk compared with never users (1057/44 427 recalled) stratified by screening centre, age, previous screening, body mass index, previous breast operation, and time since menopause in: current users of hormone replacement therapy (relative risk 1.64, 95% confidence interval 1.50 to 1.80; 1157/28 634 recalled); past users ceasing use <1 year ago (1.42, 1.08 to 1.86; 63/1758 recalled), 1-4 years ago (1.23, 1.04 to 1.46; 176/5910 recalled), and ≥5 years ago (1.07, 0.85 to 1.34; 92/3800 recalled)). Results are plotted according to the median number of years since last use of hormone replacement therapy in each of these categories From June 1996 to March 1998, 87 967 postmenopausal women aged 50-64 invited to routine …