The effect of menopausal hormone therapy on breast atrophy in post-menopausal women

Normal breast physiology in women shows breast density is inversely related to age. Few tissue-based studies examine the influence of menopausal hormone therapy on benign breast epithelial proliferation. Increased breast proliferation may be associated with an increased risk of subsequent carcinoma of the breast. We examined 105 archival breast biopsies from postmenopausal patients, including 53 patients without hormone therapy and 52 patients with hormone therapy. Atrophy in the breast was recorded. Partial atrophic or non-atrophic biopsies were further evaluated for fibrocystic changes, and divided into non-proliferative and proliferative subgroups. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expressions were scored semi-quantitatively by immunohistochemistry. Complete atrophy was more common in postmenopausal patients without hormone therapy in comparison to patients with hormone therapy. The ER and PR expression appeared increased in association with breast proliferation, but were not statistically significant between the groups of patients with regard to hormone therapy.