Hormone replacement therapies help breast cancer grow, spread

Women who take hormone replacement therapies have a higher incidence of breast cancer, research shows. Now, researchers have linked natural and synthetic progestins to the body’s production of specialized cancer cells that act like stem cells in humans. Findings could help scientists target these rare cells that proliferate in breast cancers and metastasize elsewhere, and may help clinicians identify immunotherapies to combat the spread of the disease.