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Can Menopausal Hormone Therapy Lower Liver Cancer Risk? What a 2026 Study Found

Oct 7 2026 | By: Casey Posey, MSN, APRN-BC at Glow Health and Wellness

Menopause and liver cancer awareness graphic with glowing liver icon and leafy background

Can Menopausal Hormone Therapy Lower Liver Cancer Risk? What a 2026 Study Found

New research is examining whether menopausal hormone therapy may be associated with a lower risk of one of the most common types of primary liver cancer.

When most people think about menopausal hormone therapy, they think about relief from hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, and other symptoms related to declining hormone levels. But researchers continue to study how hormones may affect other areas of long-term health as well.

A 2026 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute looked at the relationship between menopausal hormone therapy and liver cancer risk in a large Swedish population.

What Did the Study Look At?

Researchers evaluated a large group of women in Sweden and compared liver cancer rates among women who used systemic menopausal hormone therapy with women who did not. The researchers were specifically interested in hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC. This is the most common type of primary liver cancer, meaning the cancer begins in the liver rather than spreading there from another part of the body. The results showed an interesting association between menopausal hormone therapy and HCC risk. Women using systemic menopausal hormone therapy had a lower risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma compared with women who were not using hormone therapy.

What Did Researchers Find?

Overall, systemic menopausal hormone therapy use was associated with approximately a 54% lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. The lower risk was observed among women using different types of menopausal hormone therapy. Women using estrogen-only therapy had approximately a 58% lower risk, while women using estrogen combined with a progestogen had approximately a 51% lower risk. Researchers also found that the association appeared particularly strong among women age 60 and older. In this group, hormone therapy use was associated with approximately a 63% lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. These findings do not mean every woman taking hormone therapy will have the same reduction in risk, but the results give researchers another reason to continue studying the relationship between estrogen, menopause, and liver health.

What Types of Hormone Therapy Were Included?

The study evaluated systemic menopausal hormone therapy. Systemic hormone therapy is designed to circulate throughout the body and may include oral medications, transdermal therapy such as patches or gels, and injectable hormone therapy. Vaginal estrogen was not included as systemic hormone therapy in this research. This distinction matters because local vaginal estrogen typically produces much lower levels of systemic hormone exposure compared with treatments specifically designed to raise hormone levels throughout the body.

Did Hormone Therapy Lower the Risk of Every Type of Liver Cancer?

No. Researchers also looked at intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, another form of primary liver cancer that develops in the bile ducts located within the liver. The study did not find the same reduction in risk for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. That means the association researchers observed appeared to be specific to hepatocellular carcinoma rather than liver cancers in general.

Does This Mean Hormone Therapy Prevents Liver Cancer?

This is where understanding the type of research becomes important. This was an observational study. Observational research can identify patterns and associations between groups of people, but it cannot prove that one factor directly caused another. In other words, researchers found that women using menopausal hormone therapy were less likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, but the study cannot prove that hormone therapy itself prevented the cancer. Other factors may have influenced the results. Researchers noted limitations involving lifestyle and health information, including factors such as alcohol use, smoking, and obesity. These factors are important because they can also affect liver health and liver cancer risk. The findings therefore should not be interpreted as a reason to begin hormone therapy specifically to prevent liver cancer.

Why This Research Still Matters

For decades, conversations surrounding menopausal hormone therapy have often focused almost entirely on symptom relief or potential risks. Research like this reminds us that estrogen receptors and hormone signaling exist throughout the body. The effects of menopause are not limited to hot flashes. Estrogen influences numerous tissues and biological processes, and researchers continue to investigate how changing hormone levels during menopause may affect the cardiovascular system, bones, brain, metabolism, liver, and other organs. This does not mean hormone therapy is appropriate for every woman. Hormone treatment should always be individualized based on symptoms, medical history, risk factors, treatment goals, and ongoing monitoring. What this study does provide is another interesting piece of information in the much larger discussion surrounding menopause and long-term health. As menopause research continues to evolve, we are learning that the conversation about hormone therapy may be much broader than simply controlling hot flashes.

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Study:
Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Risk of Liver Cancer in a Swedish Population-Based Cohort Study
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2026

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