Postmenopausal women with elevated serum sex steroids have an increased risk of breast cancer. This risk is believed to be exerted through binding of the sex steroids to their receptors. Fourkala and colleagues investigated the association of estrogen receptor (ER) and androgen receptor (AR) serum bioactivity (SB) in two hundred postmenopausal women. ERα and ERβ SB were significantly higher before diagnosis compared to controls. Women had a twofold increased breast cancer risk if ERα SB was high more than two years before diagnosis or if estrone was high less than two years before diagnosis.

AR showed no significant association with breast cancer, but high levels of both androstenedione and testosterone were associated with a threefold increased breast cancer risk, independent of time to diagnosis. This study provides further evidence on the association of androgens and estrogens with breast cancer. Fourkala et al. (2012) Endocrine-Related Cancer 19 137–147 (open access).

Read the full article at: DOI: 10.1530/ERC-11-0310