Hormone replacement therapy with estrogen or estrogen plus medroxyprogesterone acetate is associated with increased epithelial proliferation in the normal postmenopausal breast

The relative effects of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with estrogen alone vs. estrogen+progestin on breast cell proliferation and on breast cancer risk are controversial. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out to examine the proliferative effects of HRT with estrogen or estrogen plus the progestin, medroxyprogesterone acetate, in breast tissue of postmenopausal women. Benign breast biopsies from 86 postmenopausal women were analyzed with antiproliferating cell nuclear antigen (anti-PCNA) and Ki67 antibodies to measure relative levels of cell proliferation. Epithelial density and estrogen and progesterone receptor status were also determined. The women were categorized either as users of: 1) estrogen (E) alone; 2) estrogen+medroxyprogesterone acetate (E+P); or 3) no HRT. Compared with no HRT, the breast epithelium of women who had received either E+P or E alone had significantly higher PCNA proliferation indices, and treatment with E+P had a significantly higher index (PCNA and Ki67) than treatment with E alone. Breast epithelial density was significantly greater in postmenopausal women treated with E and E+P, compared with no HRT. Thus, the present study shows that postmenopausal HRT with E+P was associated with greater breast epithelial cell proliferation and breast epithelial cell density than E alone or no HRT. Furthermore, with E+P, breast proliferation was localized to the terminal duct-lobular unit of the breast, which is the site of development of most breast cancers. Further studies are needed to assess the possible association between the mitogenic activity of progestins and breast cancer risk.