Clinical review: Breast development in trans women receiving cross-sex hormones

Abstract

Introduction: In trans women (male-to-female transsexual persons), cross-sex hormone therapy is administered to induce feminization. Breast development is an important part of feminization for most trans women.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effect of cross-sex hormone therapy on breast development in adult trans women. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the benefit or harm of administration of progestogens on breast development.

Methods: A review of the literature in Embase, Medline, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO databases, PubMed, and Web of Knowledge until January 2014.

Main outcome measures: Effects of cross-sex hormone therapy and progestogens on breast development in trans women.

Results: Only few studies with low quality of evidence addressed these topics. The available evidence suggests that breast development is insufficient for the majority of trans women and that type and dosage of hormonal therapy seem not to have an important role on final breast size.

Conclusions: Our knowledge concerning the natural history and effects of different cross-sex hormone therapies on breast development in trans women is extremely sparse and based on low quality of evidence. Current evidence does not provide evidence that progestogens enhance breast development in trans women. Neither do they prove the absence of such an effect. This prevents us from drawing any firm conclusion at this moment and demonstrates the need for further research to clarify these important clinical questions.

Keywords: Breast; Breast Cancer; Progesterone; Side Effects; Transsexualism.