According to a new research, Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cuts a woman's risk of developing colon cancer.

Millions of women discontinued taking HRT, when a Women's Health Initiative study revealed in 2002 that the hormones increased the possibility of stroke, heart disease and breast cancer.

But the Women's Health Initiative had also discovered that HRT defended against colon cancer. Some studies have also advocated that oral contraceptives may lower the risk of the disease, while the fact that woman are at minor risk of colon cancer than men also indicate a hormonal role in disease risk.

To further examine relationship between HRT and colon cancer, Dr. Millie D. Long of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her associates matched 443 women diagnosed between 2001 and 2006 with distal large bowel cancer (meaning tumors at the far end of the colon and the rectum) to 405 healthy control women. The average age of the study participants was around 63.

Long's team discovered that women who had used HRT were at half the risk of this kind of colon cancer compared to women who'd never taken hormone replacement, and the longer a woman was on HRT, the minor was the risk.

Long and her colleagues said that long-term hormone therapy is no longer advised for postmenopausal women, though it is still sometimes prescribed on a short-term basis to help women with menopausal symptoms like hot flashes.

Have you taken hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause? You may want to think twice about popping those next pills.

In the years before and during menopause, the levels of female hormones can fluctuate, which may cause hot flashes and other symptoms. Some women opt to take HRT to relieve these symptoms and to possibly protect against osteoporosis. 

But researchers in Denmark say that of the more than 900,000 Danish women ages 50 to 79 who took HRT after menopause, there were 140 extra cases of ovarian cancer linked to that treatment over eight years, or 5% of the women total. They found that women who take HRT have a 38% greater risk of getting ovarian cancer than those who don’t, and a 44% increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, which is cancer that begins on the outer lining of the ovary. The results were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Reuters notes that these findings are similar to those in the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, which found an increased risk of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, strokes and other health problems from hormone therapy. Because ovarian cancer is so lethal, doctors warn that even the slightest increased risk for it should be taken very seriously. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also has said certain types of HRT have a higher risk, and each woman’s own risks can vary depending upon health history and lifestyle.

"The study suggests that no type of hormone seems safe regarding the risk of ovarian cancer," study author Lina Steinrud Morch of the gynecological clinic at the Rigshospitalet of Copenhagen University in Denmark, told Bloomberg. "If a woman has a special predisposition for ovarian cancer, she should consider not taking hormones."

In the U.S., the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2009, there will be 21,550 new cases of ovarian cancer, and 14,600 deaths from it. It is the ninth most common cancer in women (not counting skin cancer), and ranks fifth as the cause of cancer death in women. Around two-thirds of women with ovarian cancer are 55 or older. It’s more common in white women than African American women.

Those are definitely numbers to take seriously! NIH says to be sure to talk to your doctor to discuss the risks and benefits of HRT to you. And if you do decide to take it, take it in the lowest dose possible, for the shortest duration possible.

In other health news, Irish and American researchers said this week that new tests assessing brain changes and body chemistry are showing promise at diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages, reports Reuters.