Estrogen and prostate cancer risk

[Guest guest]

One of the guys posted this study at Dr. 's forum.

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Interesting study - I believe this confirms what Dr. J has posted in the past.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2010) — A high level of one type of estrogen in a man's

body might increase his risk of developing prostate cancer. That is one

surprising conclusion from a new study which also offers another novel finding

-- that high levels of the estrogen considered fuel for breast cancer might

offer a protective benefit against prostate cancer.

Details of the research were recently presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting

2010.

The health of the prostate has long been considered dependent on the level of

the male hormones collectively known as androgens however, it is now recognized

that estrogens and their metabolites (estrogen broken down by chemical processes

in the body) play a role in its normal growth as well as in prostate cancer.

" The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of estrogen metabolites, as a

marker for prostate cancer risk, " says Ourania Kosti, PhD, at town

Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

For the study, the researchers measured estrogens and their metabolites in the

urine collected from 77 men with prostate cancer, 77 healthy controls and 37 men

that underwent biopsy and but were diagnosed cancer-free.

The relative amounts of the 15 estrogens and estrogen metabolites in the urine

of prostate cancer cases were similar to that of non-cancer patients with the

exception of the estrogen metabolite 4-OHE1.

" This particular estrogen metabolite appeared to be more abundant among men

diagnosed with prostate cancer, " explains Kosti.

Kosti says her team also observed that the estrogen metabolites considered as

'harmful' estrogens in breast cancer (16-KE2 and 17-epiE3) are secreted in

higher amounts among those without prostate cancer and in lower amounts in those

with prostate cancer.

" This suggests that these particular estrogens may have a protective role

against prostate cancer development, " explains Kosti. " It is possible that

different tissues respond to estrogens different ways, therefore the potential

role of 16-KE2 and 17-epiE3 in prostate cancer prevention and management should

be further explored. "