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Exploring the Impact of Progesterone on Breast Cancer

Susanna Cattarino

The critical role of ovarian sex steroid hormones (estrogens and progesterone) in the promotion and maintenance of breast cancer growth was suggested more than a century ago that demonstrated the bilateral oophorectomy resulted in remission of breast cancer in a premenopausal woman. Following the discovery that many Oestrogen Receptor- Positive (ER+) breast cancers are oestrogen dependent, extremely efficient adjuvant and chemopreventive medicines for these tumours were developed. Epidemiologic research also suggests that some exogenous synthetic progestogens (progestins) used with oestrogen as menopausal hormone treatment or contraception raise the risk of breast cancer. The discovery that estrogen+progestin menopausal hormone treatment increases the risk of breast cancer resulted in a significant decrease in the long-term use of these medicines to ameliorate postmenopausal symptoms.