Between 20 and 50% of women from age 45 to 70 have taken or are now taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs.
Thousands of women were led to believe that these drugs were safe and provided health benefits.
On July 9, 2002, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revealed that it was abruptly halting the use of Wyeth’s Prempro in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study because of unacceptable risks associated with taking the drug.
Letters were sent to study participants urging them to stop taking the drug because it led to an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.
The Women’s Health Initiative
The publicly funded study of HRT was intended to assess the benefits of hormone replacement and whether drugs like Prempro and Premarin helped in the prevention of heart disease, breast and colon cancer, and osteoporosis.
HRT medications may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Instead, the risks associated with these drugs outweighed any benefits found and led to the immediate termination of the study. The findings were so clear that the study was stopped with almost three years remaining.
Diseases and disorders related to HRT
The WHI study showed that combined HRT (estrogen + progestin) such as Prempro, and some estrogen-only formulations, such as Premarin, increase the risk of the following diseases and disorders:
• Breast cancer
|
• Coronary heart disease |
| • Ovarian cancer |
• Scleroderma |
| • Dementia |
• Stroke |
| • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma |
• Blood clots/deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism |
HRT drugs
Wyeth makes the most common HRT drugs, such as Prempro, Premarin and Premphase. Other HRT drugs include:
| • Activella |
• Curretab
|
• Estratab
|
• Hylutin |
| • Amen |
• Cyrin |
• Estartest |
• Megace |
| • Aygestin |
• Depo-Provera |
• Estropipate |
• Ogen |
| • Climara |
• Estinyl |
• Gesterol 50 |
• Premique |
| • CombiPatch |
• Estrace |
• Gesterol LA 250 |
• Prometrium |
| • Crinone |
• Estraderm |
• Hy/Gertrone |
• Pro-Span |
If you or a family member were prescribed hormone replacement therapy and suffer from breast, ovarian or uterine cancers, stroke, heart disease, lupus or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact Sam Levine today, toll-free, at (888) 404-LAWYER or fill out our online contact form.
