A new report published in this month's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that estrogen replacement therapy may increase a woman's risk of developing ovarian cancer. The study, headed by Dr. Tomas Riman of Falu Hospital in Sweden, examined 655 women aged 50 to 74 diagnosed with ovarian cancer and nearly 4,000 women who did not have the disease.

Although researchers involved in the report say the risk is "modest" and that the results need to be confirmed by other doctors, women who had used estrogen increased their risk of developing the disorder by 43 percent.