According to a new study, Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) reduces risk of developing colon cancer in 
women. The study was published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. It is a fact that a large number of women stopped taking HRT; this was a result to a Women's Health Initiative study made in 2002 that showed that the hormones elevated the risk of stroke, heart disease and breast cancer.
However, the new study reported that HRT showed a significant reduction in colon cancer. Some studies also mentioned that oral contraceptives would lower the risk of the disease. The fact that women are having lower risk of colon cancer suggests that hormones may play a role against the disease. Dr. Millie D. Long of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her colleagues carried out the study aiming to assess the link between HRT and colon cancer. The study involved comparing 443 women diagnosed with distal large bowel cancer, one of colon cancer types, between 2001 and 2006, to 405 healthy women as a control.
The researchers reported that women who had used HRT were having half risk of this type of colon cancer when compared to women who had never used hormone therapy. Moreover, the study showed that lower risks were associated with longer times of treatment. Yet, the study showed that there was no relationship between the use of oral contraceptive and colon cancer risk. Researchers added that the reduction in distal large bowel cancer in recent years may be related to the use of HRT in wide range. Dr. Long said "It may become important in the future to tailor timing of women's colorectal screening based on cessation of hormonal therapy,"
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