Three women who developed breast cancer after their use of combination hormone therapy have been initially awarded $72 million by a jury in Philadelphia, with further judgement about punitive damages still to come. The case concerns the use of PremPro, a combination of conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone made by Wyeth. Wyeth has since been purchased by Pfizer. Women’s Health Initiative trial results released in 2002 found an increased risk of breast cancer in those randomized to estrogen + progestin compared with placebo. Earlier this year, Pfizer announced that it has set aside $772 million in its budget for settling PremPro lawsuits.
Prior to 2002, hormone replacement therapy was often recommended to otherwise healthy women as a health-enhancing preventative therapy. SMCR has long held that menopause is a natural stage in women’s lives, rather than a condition to be treated. Hormone therapy is no longer recommended for the prevention of disease in healthy women.
