Hormone Research has Implications on Women’s Health

New research, which poses some serious implications on women’s health, is seeking to explain why women develop breast cancer and how they may prevent breast cancer and keep it from recurring. The findings from this new study show that hormonal balance is the best determiner of whether or not a malignant growth in a woman’s breast will result in breast cancer. What affects this outcome is the proper functioning of body receptors for the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.  Read more about R&D Cost Cutting: Managing Cost Containment and Safeguarding Productivity

A protein which is a steroid hormone receptor is located on the interior or the surface of a cell which binds to a particular hormone, resulting in many changes taking place in the cell. This binding of hormones to their receptors is what triggers biophysical signals which then lead to further signal transduction pathways and the switching on and off of the genes. Receptors for the hormone estrogen are activated by the hormone 17-beta estradiol, which is the most aggressive form of estrogen. Progesterone receptors are activated by the hormone progesterone, while androgen receptors are activated by the testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) hormones.

The real connection between breast cancer and hormones is what was significant in these findings. The researchers assessed the receptor status of the androgen hormone in 215 women subjects diagnosed with invasive ductal breast cancers. Receptors of both the androgen and estrogen hormones were expressed in about 80-90% of the breast tumor cells.

Through the use of regression and analysis models, the researchers concluded that the receptors of the androgen hormone were an independent prognostic factor. The women diagnosed with estrogen positive cancers that expressed low levels of receptors of the androgen hormone had a 4.6 fold increased chance of dying from cancer.

More tests carried out on the breast cancer cell lines showed that the capability of the receptor of the androgen hormone to bind DNA was both adequate and necessary for the inhibition of the signals of the receptor of the hormone estrogen. The action of the receptor promoter of the hormone progesterone was vital for the interaction of the receptor of the hormone androgen with the responsiveness of the hormone estrogen.

As a result of these findings, the researchers concluded that the androgen receptors cause the activation of target genes so as to mediate the stimulatory effects of beta-estradiol on breast cancer cells.

The only question that remained unanswered in this study was the reason why women have low levels of androgen receptors.

Read more about R&D Cost Cutting: Managing Cost Containment and Safeguarding Productivity