Περίληψη:
Benign breast disease (BBD), particularly proliferative BBD, is an
established breast cancer risk factor. However, there has been no
systematic attempt to compare the hormonal profiles of the two
conditions. In a case-control investigation in Athens, Greece, we
compared levels of estrogens, testosterone and insulin-like growth
factor-1 (IGF-1), as well as their principal binding proteins, between
breast cancer patients, women with BBD by histological type
(proliferative and nonproliferative) and women with no breast pathology.
We studied 466 women with incident breast cancer, 704 women with BBD and
244 healthy women. We used multiple regression to compare
log-transformed serum hormone levels of breast cancer patients with
those of healthy women and women with BBD by histological type
(proliferative and nonproliferative BBD).
The hormonal profile of breast cancer in our study was in line with the
generally accepted hormonal profile of this disease, as reported from
large cohort studies. Compared with healthy women, breast cancer
patients tended to have higher levels of steroid hormones. The evidence
was strong for estrone (difference 21.5%, P < 0.001), weaker for
testosterone (difference 15.8%, P = 0.07) and weaker still for
estradiol (difference 12.0%, P = 0.18). Also compared with healthy
women, breast cancer patients had barely higher levels of IGF-1
(difference 2.0%, P = 0.51), but had significantly lower levels of IGF
binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) (difference -6.7%, P = 0.001). Compared
with women with BBD, breast cancer patients had nonstatistically
significantly lower levels of steroid hormones, but they had higher
levels of IGF-1 [difference 5.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7%
to 10.6%] and lower levels of IGFBP-3 (difference -3.7%, 95% CI
-6.7% to -0.7%). Differences were more pronounced when breast cancer
patients were contrasted to women with proliferative BBD.
Our findings suggest that high levels of IGF-1 may be an important
factor toward the evolution of BBD to breast cancer.
Συγγραφείς:
Lagiou, P.
Samoli, E.
Lagiou, A.
Zourna, P.
Barbouni, A.
and Georgila, C.
Tsikkinis, A.
Vassilarou, D.
Minaki, P. and
Sfikas, C.
Spanos, E.
Trichopoulos, D.
