British experts have rejected suggestions that a new study has found that hormone replacement therapy is safe for women.
Experts at Cancer Research UK are speaking out about their concerns after US researchers said a study showed few side-effects.
The research was undertaken at New York University, USA, and presented on Monday (19 October) at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Baltimore, USA.
It suggested that hormone replacement therapy is safe and does not raise cancer, cardiovascular, or diabetes risk.
But spokespeople for the charity are warning that this study was limited by a small number of participants, who were tracked over a period of 14 years.
They say there is strong evidence from several much larger studies that hormone replacement therapy is linked to breast, ovarian and in some cases womb cancer.
Guidelines in the UK, European and USA warn of these risks and mostly advise that women should take as low a dose as possible, for as short a duration as possible.
"More women will get cancer if the use of hormone replacement therapy increases," warned Professor Dame Valerie Beral, an epidemiologist at Cancer Research UK.
"We have looked at the overall evidence and what that shows is a clear picture that hormone replacement therapy can increase the risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer, even if it is used for only a short time."
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, added: "We are very concerned about the coverage of this story in the media. We know that hormone therapy does increase a person’s risk of developing cancer. And it’s wrong to claim definitive evidence based on one small study.
"The overwhelming body of evidence shows women who are using combined hormone therapy double their risk of breast cancer compared to those not using it."
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