Elevated Estradiol and Testosterone Levels and Risk for Breast Cancer
Authors: Herbert Yu, Eleftherios P. Diamandis, Barry Hoffman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1999)

Letters2 November 1999Elevated Estradiol and Testosterone Levels and Risk for Breast CancerHerbert Yu, MD, PhD, Eleftherios P. Diamandis, MD, PhD, and Barry Hoffman, PhDHerbert Yu, MD, PhDLouisiana State University Medical Center; Shreveport, LA 71130-3932 (Yu)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Diamandis)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Hoffman), Eleftherios P. Diamandis, MD, PhDLouisiana State University Medical Center; Shreveport, LA 71130-3932 (Yu)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Diamandis)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Hoffman), and Barry Hoffman, PhDLouisiana State University Medical Center; Shreveport, LA 71130-3932 (Yu)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Diamandis)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Hoffman)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-131-9-199911020-00023 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Cauley and colleagues (1) reported that breast cancer risk was elevated not only in white postmenopausal women with high estrogen levels but also in those with high androgen levels. The association of breast cancer risk with androgen has been seen in many epidemiologic studies (2-4), but the mechanism by which androgens contribute to the cause of breast cancer is poorly understood. The relation between androgen and breast cancer is believed to be confounded by the strong correlation between androgen and estrogen because androgen is a precursor of estrogen in its metabolic pathway. Cauley and coworkers found that ...References1. Cauley JA, Lucas FL, Kuller LH, Stone K, Browner W, Cummings SR. Elevated serum estradiol and testosterone concentrations are associated with a high risk for breast cancer. Ann Intern Med. 1999;130:270-7. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Dorgan JF, Longcope C, Stephenson HE, Falk RT, Miller R, Franz C, et al . Relation of prediagnostic serum estrogen and androgen levels to breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1996;5:533-9. MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Berrino F, Muti P, Micheli A, Bolelli G, Krogh V, Sciajno R, et al . Serum sex hormone levels after menopause and subsequent breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1996;88:291-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Hankinson SE, Willett WC, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, et al . Plasma sex steroid hormone levels and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998;90:1292-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Yu H, Bharaj BS, Giai M, Diamandis EP. CAG repeats of the androgen receptor gene in breast cancer and its association with survival [Abstract]. AACR Proceedings. 1999;40:380. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Louisiana State University Medical Center; Shreveport, LA 71130-3932 (Yu)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Diamandis)Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada (Hoffman) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoElevated Serum Estradiol and Testosterone Concentrations Are Associated with a High Risk for Breast Cancer Jane A. Cauley , Frances L. Lucas , Lewis H. Kuller , Katie Stone , Warren Browner , Steven R. Cummings , and Elevated Serum Estradiol and Testosterone Concentrations Are Associated with a High Risk for Breast Cancer Jane A. Cauley , Frances L. Lucas , Lewis H. Kuller , Katie Stone , Warren Browner , Steven R. Cummings , and Metrics Cited ByBreast cancer after bilateral subcutaneous mastectomy in a female-to-male trans-sexualRoles of androgens in the development, growth, and carcinogenesis of the mammary glandAccidental gynecomastia in children 2 November 1999Volume 131, Issue 9Page: 715KeywordsAndrogensBreast cancerBreast tissueDNA sequencingEstradiolEstrogensMetabolic pathwaysProgesterone receptorRisk managementTestosterone Issue Published: 2 November 1999 CopyrightCopyright © 1999 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...