Key clinical point: In women with breast cancer, the use of hormone-modulating therapy (HMT) with tamoxifen or steroidal aromatase inhibitor is associated with a reduced risk of neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer disease and dementia.

Major finding: Propensity score-matched analysis revealed that HMT recipients vs. non-HMT recipients were less likely to receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (4.9% vs. 6.0%; relative risk [RR], 0.82), dementia (10.4% vs. 11.8%; RR, 0.88), and all neurodegenerative diseases (12.5% vs. 14.3%; RR, 0.89; P less than .001 for all).

Study details: This retrospective cohort study used a claims database of a large U.S. insurer (Humana) and included 57,843 women with a diagnosis of breast cancer (aged 45 years or older).

Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Brinton reported receiving grants from the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and the National Institute on Aging during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.