Search Foodconsumer & Others
Newsfeed
Su
bmit news[release]
More than 100 credit cards available at uscards.com 
|
|
|
Last Updated: May 5, 2009 - 12:58:27 PM |
THURSDAY MARCH 6, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- High levels of estrogen in the blood have been already known to be a risk factor for developing breast cancer. A new study has now found that estrogen at high levels can also promote breast cancer recurrence.
The study published in the March 2008 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention showed women who had breast cancer recurrence had twice as much of estrogen in their blood as that in women who remained cancer-free.
Cheryl L. Rock, Ph.D., lead author, a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego said "Taking anti-estrogen drugs like tamoxifen may not completely wipe out the hormone’s effect in women who have high levels of estrogen."
The case-control study involved 153 women whose cancer had recurred and 153 who remained cancer-free, all participating in the Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study. Cases and controls were matched in terms of tumor type, body size, age, ethnicity, use of chemotherapy and other variables.
Two thirds of women were using tamoxifen, which is often given breast cancer patients to prevent the cancer from occurring in another breast although latest studies showed that use of tamoxifen does not change the survival statuses of the patients.
For the study, different forms of estradiol and testosterone in the blood were analyzed.
The researchers found higher estradiol levels in all forms significantly predicted the odds of breast cancer recurrence. Women who had their cancer recur had an average total estradiol concentration that was more than double the average for women who remained cancer-free. Contradictory to early studies, though, testosterone or SHBG levels were not associated with the risk for breast cancer recurrence.
Rock said the study offers solid evidence that higher concentrations of estradiol sex hormones contribute to risk fro breast cancer recurrence. The results suggest that women during and after treatments for breast cancer should try by exercising and maintaining a healthy weight and using a healthy diet to lower their levels of sex hormones.
One thing breast cancer survivors can do, a scientist affiliated with foodconsumer.org suggested, is avoid exogenous hormones in the diet such as food like milk and environmental pollutants that mimic hormones. Milk produced in the U.S. contains relatively higher levels of natural hormones, which according to a Harvard scientist, are 10000 times more powerful than environmental estrogen-like pollutants when it comes to promotion of cancer development.
For more information on estrogen, read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen
© 2004-2008 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified
Top of Page
Search Consumer-friendly Health Sites
|
|
|
|