Estrogen Metabolites as Biomarkers for Breast Cancer Risk
H. Leon Bradlow, Ph.D., principal investigator
Strang Cancer Prevention Laboratory, New York, NY
Long Island investigators investigated whether differences
in the way women's bodies process the natural hormone estrogen may be
related to breast cancer risk. Estrogen is metabolized by two main, competing
pathways, either to 2-hydroxyestrone or to 16
-hydroxyestrone.
Earlier studies suggested that the balance between the estrogen metabolite
16-hydroxyestrone,
which has been associated with breast cancer, and 2-hydroxyestrone, which
has not, may affect risk for the disease. Dr. H. Leon Bradlow, of Strang
Cancer Research Laboratory, and colleagues examined the ratio between
the two metabolites in urine. They found that postmenopausal women with
very low levels of the "good" metabolite relative to the "bad" metabolite
had a greatly increased risk of breast cancer, compared to women with
high levels of the "good" metabolite. Because of the small number of study
participants, further study is needed to confirm the findings.
