Ho CCK, Rohaizak M, Zulkifli SZ, Siti-Aishah MA, Nor-Aini U, Sharifah-Noor-Akmal SH
Correspondence: Dr Christopher Ho Chee Kong, chrisckho2002@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Introduction This study was conducted to determine the association between serum sex hormone levels and breast cancer.
Methods The study was conducted on newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients who had not received any treatment. Controls were women not known to have any breast disease or hormone-related tumours. Serum hormones were divided into quartiles. Logistic regression adjusting for age and race were done to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95 percent confidence interval (CI).
Results A total of 207 subjects were recruited; 73 premenopausal (37 cases, 36 controls) and 134 postmenopausal (68 cases and 66 controls) women. In the premenopausal women, only serum testosterone was positively associated with breast cancer (OR 1.72, 95 percent CI 0.40–7.40), but this was not a significant finding (p-value is 0.468). In the postmenopausal women, oestradiol, progesterone and testosterone were positively associated with breast cancer with a highest to lowest quartile OR of 1.48, 2.35 and 4.23 (95 percent CI 0.59–3.69, 1.11–4.95 and 1.52–11.78, respectively). The OR was significant for both progesterone and testosterone (p-values of 0.025 and 0.006, respectively).
Conclusion There were no statistically significant findings among the premenopausal cases. In postmenopausal women, serum progesterone and testosterone levels were significantly associated positively with the odds of having breast cancer.
Keywords: breast cancer, hormones, postmenopausal cancer risk, progesterone, sex hormones, testosterone
Singapore Med J 2009; 50(5): 513-518
