Early Menopause Link to Lung Cancer Risk
July 21, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
Premature menopause due to medical interventions could put women at an increased risk of getting lung cancer. Researchers believe that hormonal factors may play a role in enhancing the the impact of tobacco carcinogens.
The new study from the Université de Montréal and INRS—Institut Armand-Frappier was published in the International Journal of Cancer. Study participants at 18 hospitals across Montreal, Quebec, Canada included 422 women with lung cancer and 577 control subjects. Researchers obtained detailed smoking information from all study participants.
“We found that women who experienced non-natural menopause are at almost twice the risk of developing lung cancer compared to women who experienced natural menopause,” noted Anita Koushik, researcher at the Université de Montréal.
Professor Jack Siemiatycki at the university’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine said that vulnerability to lung cancer could be caused by a sudden decrease in estrogen levels at an early age or perhaps long-term use of hormone replacement therapy. He says that further research is needed to explore the ideas.
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