Sex hormones linked to breast cancer risk
Font size:
By David Liu, Ph.D.
Saturday Oct 22, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- High sex hormones like estrogen in postmenopausal women mean high risk for developing breast cancer, according to a new study in the journal Breast Cancer Research.
The study led Dr. Shelley Tworoger from the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School shows each of elevated sex hormones was linked with about 16 percent increased risk for breast cancer.
Dr. Tworoger et al. also found highest levels of serum estrogenm estrone, prolactin, androgens were each correlated with a 50 to 200 percent increased risk of breast cancer.
The findings were derived from the test results from blood samples collected from 265 cases and 541 controls in the prospective Nurses' Health Study.
For the study, the researchers tested blood samples for estrone, estradiol, estrone sulfate, testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, and prolactin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and c-peptide. They then conducted statistical analyses to see if there is any correlation between these hormones and risk of breast cancer.
The researchers also found women in the top quintile of individual estrogen or androgen concentrations were twice as likely to have breast cancer as those who were in the bottom quintile of these hormones.
Those who had the highest amounts of the hormones were 2000 percent more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, compared with those who had the lowest levels. The effect of the hormones was even more significant for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer and the risk increased when IGF-1 and c-peptide were included in the analysis.
Sex hormones like estrogen which is used as a treatment for hot flashes in menopausal women, has already been found in previous studies to increase risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Hormones are known to be risky for pre-menopausal women also.
Breast cancer is diagnosed in about 175,000 women each year in the United States, and the disease kills about 50,000 of them annually, according to the National Institute of Cancer.
The disease is largely preventable. For instance, maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D may cut the risk by more than 70 percent, according to many epidemiological studies.
Eating a plant-based diet, monounsaturated fatty acid and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in cold water fish such as salmon may help reduce the levels of sex hormones. Physical excise may also lower hormone levels.
Add to:
del.icio.us |
Digg
del.icio.us |
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Home
Set as homepage
Add to favorites
Mobile site
Rss
Plain text
Archive