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Age at menopause and hormone replacement therapy as risk factors for head and neck and oesophageal cancer (Review)

  • Authors:
    • Caroline E. McCarthy
    • John K. Field
    • Michael W. Marcus

  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: August 1, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.5867
  • Pages: 1915-1922
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Abstract

There were ~986,000 cases of head and neck cancer (HNC) and oesophageal cancer diagnosed worldwide in 2012. The incidence of these types of cancer is much higher in males than females, although this disparity decreases in the elderly population, suggesting a role for hormones as a risk factor. This systematic review investigates the potential role of female hormones [age at menopause and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)] as risk factors for HNC/oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The electronic databases MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE and Cochrane were searched. Only studies with at least 50 cases of HNC/oesophageal SCC, with data on age at menopause, smoking, alcohol, age and socioeconomic status or educational attainment, were included. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used for assessing risk of bias. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria (5 oesophageal SCC, 2 HNC and 1 combined oesophageal SCC and HNC). HRT was shown to reduce the risk of HNC (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.61-0.99) in one study. Our results showed that earlier age at menopause is a risk factor for oesophageal SCC, with women entering menopause at <45 years having double the risk of those entering menopause at age >50 years. Similar, but less striking, results were observed for HNC. HRT was found to reduce the risk of HNC/oesophageal SCC, but the evidence is inconclusive. We, therefore, recommend that consideration should be given to collecting data on reproductive factors and exposure to HRT, as routine practice, in future epidemiological and clinical studies of these cancers. The concept of oestrogen deficiency as a risk for HNC/oesophageal SCC deserves further exploration in future laboratory and clinical studies.
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October-2017
Volume 38 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1021-335X
Online ISSN:1791-2431

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Spandidos Publications style
McCarthy CE, Field JK and Marcus MW: Age at menopause and hormone replacement therapy as risk factors for head and neck and oesophageal cancer (Review). Oncol Rep 38: 1915-1922, 2017
APA
McCarthy, C.E., Field, J.K., & Marcus, M.W. (2017). Age at menopause and hormone replacement therapy as risk factors for head and neck and oesophageal cancer (Review). Oncology Reports, 38, 1915-1922. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.5867
MLA
McCarthy, C. E., Field, J. K., Marcus, M. W."Age at menopause and hormone replacement therapy as risk factors for head and neck and oesophageal cancer (Review)". Oncology Reports 38.4 (2017): 1915-1922.
Chicago
McCarthy, C. E., Field, J. K., Marcus, M. W."Age at menopause and hormone replacement therapy as risk factors for head and neck and oesophageal cancer (Review)". Oncology Reports 38, no. 4 (2017): 1915-1922. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.5867