To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - AAO: Estrogen Levels Linked To Head And Neck Cancers URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/13351A.htm Doctor's Guide September 28, 1999
By Andrew Bowser Special to DG News
NEW ORLEANS, LA -- September 28, 1999 -- Head and neck cancer is increasingly more common among women, suggesting that differences in the way women metabolize estrogen may be putting them at increased risk for developing the disease.
In a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAO), Dr. Helen Jung-Sook Koo, of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, revealed new data indicating that head and neck cancer patients are more likely to express abnormal estrogen metabolism compared with healthy controls. The findings came from a study of urinary levels of estrogen metabolites 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone (16-alpha-OHE1) and 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1).
The researchers found a low ratio of 2-OHE1 (which demonstrates an anti-proliferative effects on estrogen metabolism) to 16-alpha-OHE1 (which demonstrates proliferative effects) in 30 percent of the 50 head and neck cancer patients compared to only 4 percent of 50 age- and sex-matched controls. Previously, estrogen metabolites have been associated with the pathogenesis of breast and cervical cancer, but this is the first study to demonstrate a link in cancers of sites including the upper aerodigestive tract.
The findings didn't correlate with sex of the patients in the study group and control group, which contained 40 men and 10 women each. In an interview with Doctor's Guide, Dr. Koo said the findings suggest 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone and 2-hydroxyestrone may serve as biological markers of increased risk for head and neck cancer.
Should these findings be replicated in a larger study underway now, researchers may study the effects of pharmacologic intervention to alter estrogen metabolic pathways. Similar effects could be exerted by vegetables including broccoli and cauliflower, which contain the phytochemical compound indole-3-carbinol. "It's a little too early to make specific recommendations, but it's not unethical to suggest to your patients that they eat vegetables," Dr. Yoo said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.