Firm Obtains Favorable Settlement in HRT Litigation - 2011-06-06

Langdon & Emison successfully wrapped up a series of lawsuits over hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs on behalf of women who had been prescribed them to treat symptoms related to menopause. Phyllis Norman led the firm's legal team in this matter.

HRT drugs include:

• Oral Estrogens (including Premarin and Cenestin)
• Topical Estrogens (including Alora, Climara, and Vivelle)
• Progestins (including Prempro)

HRT medications have been prescribed to relieve menopausal symptoms and to prevent things like heart disease and dementia. However, reports - like one late last year from the Toronto Sun - have shown that HRT drugs instead increase the risk of diseases they were marketed to prevent and greatly increase the risk of breast cancer.

• 41% increase in Stroke
• 29% increase in Heart Attack
• 26% increase in Breast Cancer
• 22% increase in Cardiovascular Disease

A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association further confirmed the link between hormone replacement therapy drugs and breast cancer. According to the study, post-menopausal women who took HRT drugs -- estrogen plus progestin -- were more likely to develop aggressive and deadly forms of breast cancer. Such women were more likely to die from breast cancer than women who had not been prescribed HRT drugs, like Prempro and Premarin.

Additional attention was brought to this type of litigation when many consumer advocates began warning citizens about the dangers of Prempro, Premarin and other hormone replacement (HRT) drugs. For more information linking HRT drugs to fatal breast cancer, the following news outlets covered the trend during the scope of the litigation:

• Study: Post-Menopausal Hormone Therapy Increases Cancer Risk [PBS Newshour - Video]
• Breast Cancer Risks for Post-Menopausal Women [ABC News - Video]
• Estrogen Plus Progestin and Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women [JAMA]
• Breast Cancer Seen as Riskier With Hormone [Denise Grady at NYT]
• Post-menopausal hormones boost cancer risk, study finds [The Washington Post]
• Pfizer Hormones Almost Double Breast Cancer Death Risk in U.S. Research [Michelle Fay Cortez at Bloomberg News]
• Hormone Replacement, Breast Cancer Link Grows [CBS News]