PHILADELPHIA – The updated hormone therapy position statement from the North American Menopause Society tells clinicians to move away from “lowest dose for the shortest time” and toward prescribing the appropriate dose, formulation, and route of administration to meet treatment goals.
At the group’s annual meeting, some of the authors of the position statement outlined the latest evidence for the safety of hormone therapy and special clinical considerations based on age or time of menopause and unique health risks like breast cancer. Additionally, the authors said there should not be an arbitrary “stop date” for hormone therapy.
The authors also discussed the risks of using compounded bioidentical hormones to treat menopausal symptoms.
This roundtable discussion includes JoAnn V. Pinkerton, MD, NAMS executive director and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Andrew Kaunitz, MD, associate chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Florida, Jacksonville; and Cynthia A. Stuenkel, MD, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Pinkerton reported institutional research support from TherapeuticsMD. Dr. Kaunitz reported consultant/advisory board work for Allergan, Amag Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, Mithra Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and Shionogi. He has also received grant/research support from Bayer, Radius Health, TherapeuticsMD, and Millendo Therapeutics. Dr. Stuenkel reported having no financial disclosures.