Does hormone replacement therapy affect the endometrial pathologies in postmenopausal women?

Abstract

Our aim was to determine the effect of hormone replacement therapy on endometrial pathologies in postmenopausal women. In this prospective study, 107 postmenopausal women who had complaint of postmenopausal uterine bleeding or who had endometrial pathology in routine transvaginal ultrasonographic examination were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups. The study group included 24 patients who were under hormone replacement therapy (group A) and the control group included 83 patients who were not under hormone replacement therapy (group B). All patients had transvaginal ultrasonography then office diagnostic hysteroscopy. The final diagnosis was made by operative hysteroscopy with resection and excision of the lesions or endometrial biopsy with vacum curettage. The groups were compared on transvaginal ultrasonographic findings, hysteroscopic findings and final diagnosis. The patients’ ages ranged from 46 to 80 years. In the hormone therapy group (group A) and in the control group (group B) the most common transvaginal ultrasonographic finding was endometrial thickness (group A 62.5%, group B 53%). The most common final diagnosis was endometrial polyp in group A (54.1%) and in group B (54.2%). One patient in Group B was diagnosed as endometrioid adeno carcinoma. There was no statistically difference in both groups for final diagnosis. Our study showed that hormone therapy is not associated with endometrial pathologies such as endometrial polyps or fibroids.