Another study on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was halted, this time due to concerns that the hormones increase the risk of breast cancer recurrences in women with a history of the disease. In the study, conducted in Sweden, researchers were studying the effects of HRT in women who had been previously treated for breast cancer. However, after over three times as many women who were given HRT in the study developed breast cancer recurrences, compared to women who were not given HRT, the
researchers decided to stop the study due to safety concerns. This is the latest HRT study to be halted prematurely based on the worry that HRT increases breast cancer risk.

The results of a recent study find that women who become pregnant after breast cancer treatment do not appear to be at greater risk of dying from breast cancer than women who do not have children after their breast cancer experience. However, experts warn that the design of the study could be flawed and that pregnancy after breast cancer may pose risks for women. The issue of pregnancy after breast cancer should be discussed carefully with a physician familiar with the woman's diagnosis
and treatment, often after a waiting period of two or more years.

Ductal lavage is a new procedure that involves analyzing cells washed out from the breast ducts to determine whether they have cancerous qualities before they develop into breast cancer. Though initial studies have shown ductal lavage to be promising in identifying women at high risk of breast cancer, a new study of women with breast cancer raises concerns about the procedure. In the study, over half of the women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer had "normal" results with the ductal lavage procedure, meaning that ductal lavage failed to detected any abnormalities in these women. While the researchers believe ductal lavage is still important for learning about the development of cancer, they warn that ductal lavage has limitations as a screening procedure and should not be performed in place of regular mammography.

Mammography is available at numerous accredited locations in most areas of the United States. To date, over 11,000 mammography facilities have been accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR) in the U.S. This article helps users locate a mammography facility by city, state, or zip code through the FDA's Mammography Location Finder. All mammography facilities in the database are accredited by the ACR and meet the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) mandated by Congress.