ArticleOncology letters2026
Effect of the use of hormonal replacement therapy on breast cancer prognosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Oncology letters, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Breast cancer is a global health concern. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prior to breast cancer diagnosis is of particular interest due to the hormone sensitivity of the breasts. Previous evidence has altered the perception of HRT by highlighting that certain risks could outweigh the benefits. As a result, the popularity of HRT for menopausal symptom relief and disease prevention decreased. To investigate the relationship between pre-diagnosis HRT use and breast cancer survival, a meta-analysis was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A comprehensive search across MEDLINE, Cochrane and Web of Science databases up to August 2025 identified 33 studies. These studies evaluated the impact of HRT on breast cancer survival utilizing various study designs. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale, while the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Exposures tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias. The pooled analysis revealed that HRT use prior to breast cancer diagnosis was associated with reduced breast cancer mortality (odds ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.79-0.94). Subgroup analyses based on duration and timing of HRT use at diagnosis revealed heterogeneous associations with survival. Shorter duration of use (<5 years) appeared to be associated with lower breast cancer mortality; however, these subgroup analyses were based on a limited number of studies and should be interpreted with caution. Longer duration of use (>10 years) showed no clear association. Studies recruiting after 2000 showed an inverse association between HRT use and breast cancer mortality, a trend more pronounced than in earlier years, although evidence remains limited. In conclusion, pre-diagnosis HRT use was associated with improved breast cancer survival, influenced by treatment duration, timing and temporal factors. It is necessary to note that subgroup findings based on the treatment duration and recruitment period were limited by the low number of contributing studies and should be interpreted with caution. Despite methodological differences among the included studies, the present findings provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between HRT and breast cancer prognosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.