What might the FDA’s removal of a black box warning on hormone therapy for menopause mean to you? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:06 — 1.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Certain hormone therapies for menopause have had black box warnings on them since 2003, following concerns arising from the Women’s Health Initiative study, which seemed to show increased risks for breast cancer and dementia. Now the FDA has removed these warnings, citing flaws in the studies. Wen Shen, a menopause expert at Johns Hopkins, says reality is still more complicated.

Shen: Menopause hormone therapy is very much of a nuanced thing that has to be individualized to every woman. It takes a long time. Every new patient that comes to me for menopause consultation I spend an hour on but that's what it takes. If it's a new patient that I've never met I need to know everything about her medical history in order to safely recommend the menopause treatment or if she even needs menopause treatment.  :28

Shen says women need to see someone with experience who will consider her individual circumstances and make sure they’re integrated into any treatment. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.