A new epidemiological study has found that among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy, obese women are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women of normal weight.

The medical community has been debating for many years whether, and to what extent, postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) use is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, says Professor Amos Pines, President of the International Menopause Society.

The past decade has seen marked fluctuations in opinions concerning the merits and risks of postmenopausal hormone therapy. In July 2002, menopause management faced a major turning point when the first data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial were released.

Secondary analyses of findings from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) suggest that women who begin hormone therapy within 10 years of menopause may have less risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) due to hormone therapy than women farther from menopause. Overall, hormone therapy did not reduce the risk of CHD.