Many women take hormone replacement therapy to relieve the symptoms of menopause, despite studies showing it may increase the risk of breast cancer.

The debate over the efficacy and safety of HRT has been renewed amid an investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, of Wyeth, the maker of Prempro and Premarin, two popular HRTs. Grassley is looking into Wyeth’s practice of using ghostwriters to write positive medical journal articles about Prempro and whether those efforts misled doctors, The New York Times reported.

“There really is no reason for women to feel limited to taking hormones when menopause begins,” says Dr. Machelle Seibel, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Massachusetts. “There are safe alternatives.”

Women can relieve vaginal dryness – a common menopausal symptom – with over-the-counter remedies such as Replens® Vaginal Moisturizer, which is hormone-free.

An analysis published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine found a decline in breast cancer rates in 2003 may be linked to a drop in the use of HRT. Breast cancer rates had been going up for two decades until then.

Indeed, the number of prescriptions has dropped dramatically since the first link between breast cancer and HRT was shown in 2002. Not only do many doctors believe HRT raises the risk of breast cancer, a 2004 Swedish study found breast-cancer survivors who used HRT to relieve menopausal symptoms had more than triple the risk of getting breast cancer again compared to survivors who did not take HRT.

“These studies require women to carefully assess, with their doctor’s help, whether taking HRT is worth the potential risk,” Seibel says. “You really need to know how to manage the symptoms and what your options are.”

Vaginal dryness symptoms are described by women as itching, burning and soreness. If left untreated, it can lead to more problems such as urinary discomfort, bladder infections and painful intercourse.