No link observed between hormone therapy and glioma risk in postmenopausal women: Study

A new study published in the journal of Menopause found that overall, among menopausal women, the usage and duration of hormone treatment did not correlate with glioma risk.

Hormones are important during fetal brain development, act as a neuroprotectant through pathways independent of estrogen receptors in brain degeneration, and may lessen the severity of impairment and mortality risk in traumatic brain injury patients. Reports of a persistent overabundance of gliomas in men, hormone receptors in glial tumors, and variations in incidence rates around ages at menarche and menopause are among the data from human research that seem to imply a hormonal effect on gliomas.

In the Nordic nations, the most common adult malignant brain tumors are gliomas, a diverse group of tumors. Other than ionizing radiation and a few uncommon hereditary disorders, the genesis of gliomas is mostly unclear. Given that the incidence of glioma is around 50% lower in women, it has been proposed that female sex hormones may have a preventive effect. Adult gliomas are the most prevalent primary brain tumors, and there is ongoing debate on the potential contribution of hormone treatment (HT) to their development.

Thereby, to examine the relationship between hormone medication usage and glioma risk, Jinyu Pan and colleagues used data from the Prostate, Colorectal, Lung, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial in their cohort design analysis.

A total of 75,335 women between the ages of 50 and 78 who were enrolled between 1993 and 2001 had their data examined for this study. 11.82 years was the median follow-up duration. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association between HT usage and glioma risk were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models, which controlled for a number of possible confounders.

Gliomas were detected in 101 subjects throughout the follow-up period. HT usage and glioma risk did not significantly correlate after controlling for pertinent factors. Likewise, no noteworthy correlations were discovered while taking into account HT status or usage duration.

Only the group with at least a college degree showed a significant positive correlation, according to subgroup analysis by marital status, education, oral contraceptive, body mass index, ovariectomy, hysterectomy, ever been pregnant, age at menarche, and age at menopause. There was no significant interaction impact for education. Overall, these findings show that there is no general correlation between HT consumption and the development of gliomas.

Reference:

Pan, J., Shao, C., Xu, C., Zhang, G., Jiang, H., Tang, T., Tang, H., & Wu, N. (2025). Association between hormone therapy and glioma risk in US women: a cancer screening trial. Menopause (New York, N.Y.). https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002507