The ratio of the estradiol metabolites 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) and 16α-hydroxyestrone (16-OHE1) may predict breast cancer risk in postmenopausal but not in premenopausal women: two case-control studies

Publication

The ratio of the estradiol metabolites 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) and 16α-hydroxyestrone (16-OHE1) may predict breast cancer risk in postmenopausal but not in premenopausal women: two case-control studies

Journal Paper/Review - Oct 16, 2014

Ruan Xiangyan, Seeger Harald, Wallwiener Diethelm, Huober Jens, Mueck Alfred O

Citation

Ruan X, Seeger H, Wallwiener D, Huober J, Mueck A. The ratio of the estradiol metabolites 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) and 16α-hydroxyestrone (16-OHE1) may predict breast cancer risk in postmenopausal but not in premenopausal women: two case-control studies. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2014; 291:1141-6.

Type

Journal Paper/Review (English)

Journal

Arch Gynecol Obstet 2014; 291

Publication Date

Oct 16, 2014

Issn Electronic

1432-0711

Pages

1141-6

Brief description/objective

PURPOSE
Two main estradiol metabolites have different biological behavior with tumorigenic features of 16-OHE1 and antiproliferative characteristics of 2-OHE1. We investigated the ratio of these estradiol metabolites in pre- and postmenopausal patients with breast cancer (BC) within two case-control studies.

METHODS
From 41 premenopausal patients with (cases) and without (controls N = 211) BC and 207 postmenopausal patients with and without BC (N = 206), urine samples were collected. Urine samples were collected prior to surgery and stored at -20 °C until measurement by ELISA. The multiple linear regression test with two interactions was performed to evaluate the influence of different factors on the metabolic ratio.

RESULTS
In premenopausal patients, log ratio of 2-OHE1/16-OHE1 was 0.25 (CI 0.20;0.29) and 0.21 (CI 0.11;0.31) for controls and cases without significant difference. In postmenopausal patients, log ratio was 0.22 (CI 0.17;0.26) and 0.11 (CI 0.07;0.15) in controls and cases, respectively, and was statistically significantly lower (p = 0.0002). Log ratio was significantly influenced by BMI, but only in postmenopausal patients, an increased BMI resulted in a significantly (p < 0.042) decreased ratio.

CONCLUSIONS
Our case control studies suggest that in postmenopausal women a different metabolism of estrogens may play a role in the tumorigenesis of breast cancer. This genetically determined metabolism could be influenced by the exogenic factor BMI. In premenopausal women different hormone levels at different time points of the menstrual cycle may be an explanation that why we could not find an influence of estrogen metabolism.