Women who are not "estrogen receptor-positive" taking estrogen replacement therapy after being treated for early breast cancer have a survival rate comparable to that of similar patients who do not take estrogen, according to a report in the journal Cancer.

Women with breast cancer who are said to be "estrogen receptor-positive" are advised to avoid estrogen replacement therapy, since cancer cell growth may be fueled by estrogen.

Researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center conducted a study to assess the safety and effectiveness of prolonged estrogen replacement therapy in a group of menopausal women who had a minimum disease free period of two years if they were estrogen receptor negative or 10 years if their estrogen receptor status was unknown.

"Estrogen replacement therapy did not compromise disease free survival in select patients who were treated previously for localized breast cancer," concluded the researchers. "Larger scale randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings."

Other sources: Cancer