University of Virginia Health System

U.VA. HEALTH SYSTEM HOLDS FORUM ON NEW FINDINGS FROM THE WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE HORMONE STUDY

This week the Journal of the American Medical Association announced the halt of the national Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Study. The study's findings suggested that women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have an increased risk for breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots and cardiovascular disease.

In an effort to answer women's questions regarding HRT, the University of Virginia Health System will hold a forum to discuss these new findings from the study. Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, director of the U.Va. Health System Midlife Center and a national authority on HRT, will lead a panel of physicians in discussing the issue and moderate an open Q&A session. The event will be held on Wednesday, July 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Omni hotel in downtown Charlottesville. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

The study, sponsored by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, was testing the effects of estrogen plus progestin on post-menopausal women. The large multi-center trial, was scheduled to run until 2005, but was stopped after showing a lack of overall benefit. There were however, some noteworthy benefits of estrogen plus progestin. Study participants on the HRT combination experienced fewer cases of hip fractures and colon cancer, but on balance the harm was greater than the benefit, the study showed.

Dr. Dearing Johns, an expert on cardiovascular health, and Dr. David Brenin, a specialist in breast surgery also will be present at Wednesday's forum to help women make informed decisions about their menopausal treatment. Those who attend the forum will receive information fact sheets and hear discussion about whether the risks of HRT outweigh the benefits.

July 12, 2002