Natasha Tiffany, MD, provides care to patients in and around Salem, Oregon, through Oregon Oncology Associates and Salem Hospital. In addition, Natasha Tiffany, MD, remains actively involved with the Salem Cancer Institute and has contributed extensively to oncology research literature throughout her career.

1. Research Links
Menopausal Hormone
Therapy to Breast Cancer
NATASHA TIFFANY MD

2. Introduction
 Natasha Tiffany, MD, provides care to patients in and around Salem, Oregon, through Oregon
Oncology Associates and Salem Hospital. In addition, Natasha Tiffany, MD, remains actively
involved with the Salem Cancer Institute and has contributed extensively to oncology research
literature throughout her career.
Researchers continue to unlock the relationship between environmental exposures and the
risk of developing certain types of cancer. Physicians have long recognized the link between
menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer, but a recent large meta-analysis has helped
clarify the relationship.
The study, published in medical journal The Lancet, confirms that all forms of menopausal
hormone therapy, except vaginally inserted estrogen, increase the risk of breast cancer.
Further, the researchers found that the risk persists up to a decade after hormone use and
that a positive correlation between duration of use and risk exists.
Importantly, some factors mitigated the risk of breast cancer. For example, hormone therapy
for less than a year carried little risk. Also, the risk was attenuated for women who started
therapy after age 60. Women who are obese also had a lower risk of developing breast cancer
after hormone therapy.