The short answer
Menopausal hormone therapy eases menopause symptoms but affects cancer risk. Combined estrogen-plus-progestin raises breast cancer risk; estrogen alone affects risks differently. Decisions balance symptom relief against risks with your doctor.
NCI says estrogen plus progestin raises breast cancer risk, and estrogen alone raises endometrial cancer risk when the uterus is present.
People are mainly exposed by taking prescription hormone therapy for menopause symptoms.
In the Women's Health Initiative trials, estrogen alone was linked to a lower breast cancer risk than estrogen plus progestin.
The FDA advises using menopausal hormone therapy for the shortest time and at the lowest dose possible to control symptoms. Do not start, stop or change it without talking to your doctor.
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The simple version
This page is for anyone thinking about hormone therapy for menopause, or supporting someone who is. It explains how it affects cancer risk.
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) uses estrogen, sometimes with progestin, to ease menopause symptoms such as hot flashes. It can raise the risk of some cancers, and it affects others differently. This is a personal decision to make with your doctor, weighing benefits against risks.
What menopausal hormone therapy is
MHT replaces hormones that decline at menopause. "Combined" therapy uses estrogen plus progestin. "Estrogen-only" therapy uses estrogen alone. Large trials shaped what we know about the risks and benefits. The Women's Health Initiative was one of them.
How people are exposed
Common ways people come into contact with it:
- Taking prescription estrogen, with or without progestin, for menopause symptoms.
- Use is guided by a doctor, based on symptoms and health history.
The cancer connection
NCI says combined estrogen-plus-progestin therapy raised breast cancer risk, and the higher risk lasted for at least a decade after use stopped. In the Women's Health Initiative trials, estrogen alone was linked to a lower breast cancer risk. Estrogen-alone therapy raises the risk of endometrial cancer in people with an intact uterus. NCI also reports a higher risk of death from lung cancer with estrogen plus progestin.
NCI also notes that menopausal hormone therapy is linked to other health risks, including stroke, blood clots, heart attack and, in people 65 and older, dementia. It is also linked to benefits, such as symptom relief and fracture prevention.
Your personal risk
These findings describe groups of people, not a prediction for you. Your own risk depends on your health, your history and how the therapy is used. Talk with your doctor about it.
Questions to raise with your doctor
MHT is a prescribed treatment, so choices about it are made with your doctor. Steps that help:
- Talk through your personal risks and benefits.
- Ask about the FDA advice to use it for the shortest time and at the lowest dose possible to control symptoms. Do not stop or change it on your own.
- Keep up with recommended breast screening and other screening.
- Report any unusual bleeding promptly.
To see where menopausal hormone therapy sits among all the things that affect cancer risk, read our overview of cancer prevention and what raises cancer risk.
The bottom line
Menopausal hormone therapy can raise the risk of some cancers. It can also ease hard symptoms. Weigh the benefits and risks with your doctor, and keep up with screening.
Common questions
Does menopausal hormone therapy cause cancer?
It can raise the risk of some cancers. NCI says estrogen plus progestin raised breast cancer risk, and the higher risk lasted for at least a decade after use stopped. Estrogen alone raised endometrial cancer risk in people with a uterus. Your own risk depends on your health and history, so talk with your doctor.
How are people exposed to menopausal hormone therapy?
Most exposure happens by taking prescription hormone therapy for menopause symptoms. This is a prescribed medical treatment, so decisions are made individually with a clinician.
Which cancers are linked to menopausal hormone therapy?
NCI lists breast cancer (with estrogen plus progestin) and endometrial cancer (with estrogen alone, in people with a uterus). NCI also reports a higher risk of death from lung cancer with estrogen plus progestin in the Women's Health Initiative.
What does the FDA advise?
The FDA advises using menopausal hormone therapy for the shortest time and at the lowest dose possible to control menopause symptoms. Talk to your doctor before starting, stopping or changing it.
Does a higher risk mean I will get cancer?
No. A higher risk is not a prediction for any one person. Your actual risk depends on your health, history and how the therapy is used.
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Last updated: 2026-10-16Next planned review: 2028-07-05
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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