Hormone replacement therapy after treatment for breast cancer: physicians' attitudes towards randomized trials.

Purpose: Physician support is required for successful patient recruitment to a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to determine the safety and benefits of short-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after breast cancer (BC).
Methods: A survey was mailed to 1899 Canadian gynaecologists, family physicians, medical, radiation and surgical oncologists to assess willingness to refer patients to an RCT of HRT after BC.
Results: Of 538 physicians, 420 (78%) reported that they would be willing to refer a woman after BC to an RCT of HRT versus placebo. Variables predicting willingness to refer included: support for HRT in well women (p = 0.04) and after BC (p = 0.0001); support for clinical trials (p = 0.0001); ongoing BC trials at the physicians' institution (p = 0.003); currently prescribing HRT to women after BC (p = 0.03); and beneficial results in ongoing RCTs of HRT in well women (p = 0.02).
Conclusions: An RCT of short-term HRT after BC may be feasible among Canadian physicians.