Effect of tibolone on breast symptoms resulting from postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of breast symptoms in a population treated with various hormone replacement therapy (HRT) regimens and to detect the variations in breast symptomatology after HRT changing to tibolone administration. Methods: This prospective placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on healthy women on HRT reporting breast symptoms. A questionnaire was given to each woman to detect breast symptomatology. Breast tenderness and mastalgia were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS). According to the choice of the each woman with breast symptoms, the HRT was changed to tibolone (2.5 mg/day per os) or to calcium carbonate (1 tab/day, placebo group). The duration of treatment was of 12 months. After 6 and 12 months breast symptomatology was re-evaluated. Results: Among the 600 screened women, 64 (10.7%) were suffering from breast symptomatology. After 6 and 12 months of treatment with tibolone or placebo, mean VAS score for breast tenderness and for mastalgia resulted significantly (P < 0.05) decreased, without differences between groups, in comparison with basal value. Only one woman had no improvement from the breast symptoms with tibolone administration. Conclusions: Shifting from classical HRT to tibolone is followed by a significant reduction of breast symptomatology in postmenopausal women with breast complaints similar to that obtained with treatment withdrawal. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.