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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 129, No. 3: 527-532
Copyright © 1989 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

ESTROGEN AND ANDROGEN LEVELS IN WOMEN TREATED WITH RADIATION FOR CERVICAL CANCER-POSSIBLE INFLUENCE ON BREAST CANCER RISK

NANCY L. EBY1,, JOHN D. BOICE, JR.2, ELLEN B. GOLD3, ROBERT N. HOOVER2 and D. LYNN LORIAUX4

1Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Pittsburgh, PA
2Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, Division of Cancer Etiology, National Cancer Institute Bethesda, MD
3Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health Baltimore, MD
4Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Bethesda, MD

Reprint requests to Dr. Nancy L. Eby, Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, 200 Meyran Avenue, Second floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

In 1984–1985, estrogen and androgen levels in blood sera were measured in 320 women who had been treated for cervical cancer in the earty 1960s. Study subjects were from US clinics in Baltimore, Maryland; Boston and Norfolk, Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; Houston, Texas; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. These clinics had participated in a larger international follow-up study of cervical cancer in which a 20–30% reduction In breast cancer risk was linked to prior pelvic irradiation, even when treatment occurred after menopause. Overall, the 203 irradiated and 117 nonirradlated women had similar mean levels of estradiol, estrone, androstenedione, and testosterone. However, there appeared to be negative, albeit inconsistent, trends for androstenedione, testosterone, and estrone, suggesting that the irradiated women had lower levels of these hormones when compared with the nonirradlated women. These differences did not reach the level of statistical significance. While chance could partially explain these findings, it is plausible that the frequently observed protective association of breast cancer with pelvic irradiation could be due in part to a decrease in steroid hormones that is secondary, perhaps, to adrenal irradiation.

androgens; breast neoplasms; estrogens; ovariectomy; radiotherapy


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