Estradiol / Progesterone Side Effects

Oral route (capsule)

Estrogen Plus Progestin Therapy. The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) estrogen plus progestin substudy reported an increased risk of pulmonary embolism (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) in postmenopausal women (50 to 79 years of age) during 5.6 years of treatment with daily oral conjugated estrogen (CE) [0.625 mg] combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) [2.5 mg], relative to placebo.The WHI Memory Study (WHIMS) estrogen plus progestin ancillary study of WHI reported an increased risk of developing probable dementia in postmenopausal women 65 years of age and older during 4 years of treatment with daily CE (0.625 mg) combined with MPA (2.5 mg), relative to placebo.

It is unknown whether this finding applies to younger postmenopausal women.Do not use estrogen plus progestogen therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia.The WHI estrogen plus progestin substudy reported increased risks of invasive breast cancer.Only daily oral 0.625 mg CE and 2.5 mg MPA were studied in the estrogen plus progestin substudy of the WHI.

Therefore, the relevance of the WHI findings regarding adverse cardiovascular events, dementia and breast cancer to lower CE plus other MPA doses, other routes of administration, or other estrogen plus progestogen products is not known.

Without such data, it is not possible to definitively exclude these risks or determine the extent of these risks for other products.

Discuss with your patient the benefits and risks of estrogen plus progestogen therapy, taking into account her individual risk profile.Prescribe estrogens with or without progestogens at the lowest effective doses and for the shortest duration consistent with treatment goals and risks for the individual woman.Estrogen-Alone Therapy. There is an increased risk of endometrial cancer in a woman with a uterus who uses unopposed estrogens.

Adding a progestogen to estrogen therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of endometrial hyperplasia, which may be a precursor to endometrial cancer.

Perform adequate diagnostic measures, including directed or random endometrial sampling when indicated, should be undertaken to rule out malignancy in postmenopausal women with undiagnosed persistent or recurring abnormal genital bleeding.The WHI estrogen-alone substudy reported increased risks of stroke and DVT in postmenopausal women (50 to 79 years of age) during 7.1 years of treatment with daily oral CE (0.625 mg)-alone relative to placebo.The WHIMS estrogen-alone ancillary study of WHI reported an increased risk of developing probable dementia in postmenopausal women 65 years of age or older during 5.2 years of treatment with daily CE (0.625 mg)-alone, relative to placebo.

It is unknown whether this finding applies to younger postmenopausal women.Do not use estrogen-alone therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia.Only daily oral 0.625 mg CE was studied in the estrogen-alone substudy of the WHI.

Therefore, the relevance of the WHI findings regarding adverse cardiovascular events and dementia to lower CE doses, other routes of administration, or other estrogen-alone products is not known.

Without such data, it is not possible to definitively exclude these risks or determine the extent of these risks for other products.

Discuss with your patient the benefits and risks of estrogen-alone therapy, taking into account her individual risk profile.Prescribe estrogens with or without progestogens at the lowest effective doses and for the shortest duration consistent with treatment goals and risks for the individual woman.