Breast cancer patients may face an increased risk of depression as a result of treatments that disrupt their levels of the hormone, oestrogen. Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston interviewed patients receiving treatment that suppressed oestrogen. Symptoms similar to menopause - a time of life when oestrogen levels fall naturally - were "almost universal" in women experiencing these therapies, the researchers write in Psychosomatics. Four of 15 pre-menopausal women with signs of oestrogen deficiency experienced depression and four of six post-menopausal women experienced depression. Three of these recovered fully after receiving anti-depressant medication.