Current Advances in Hormone Replacement Therapy: From Basic to Clinical Research

Post-menopause or bilateral oophorectomy can lead to lowered estrogen levels in women, resulting in a range of symptoms of estrogen deficiency. Hormone replacement therapy, involving estrogen supplementation, is commonly used to alleviate these symptoms. However, due to side effects, such as an increased risk of breast cancer, some women opt to discontinue treatment. The exact mechanism by which long-term estrogen administration causes mammary gland carcinogenesis is not fully elucidated. Recent studies have suggested that the supplementation of androgen instead of estrogen may have potential benefits for post-menopausal women to avoid negative consequences, such as mammary gland carcinogenesis. However, there is currently a lack of sufficient epidemiological data that hampers the confirmation of its efficacy and safety. Thus, hormone replacement therapy is a cutting-edge area with many problems yet to be solved.

This Research Topic aims to shed light on the precise mechanism of side effects associated with hormone replacement therapy, develop alternatives to hormone replacement therapy by using natural products, and disseminate the latest epidemiological research findings on the efficacy and side effects of hormone replacement therapy.

Possible sub-topics are as below:
• Novel mechanisms of adverse effects in hormone replacement therapy;
• Alternative therapies for estrogen-deficient women;
• Natural products and folk medicines applicable for hormone replacement therapy;
• Novel approaches for avoiding the adverse effects in hormone replacement therapy;
• Epidemiological studies evaluating the benefit/risk of estrogen/progesterone/androgen replacement therapy;
• Epidemiological investigations identifying factors that can predict adverse reactions in hormone replacement therapy.