Regular Article

British Journal of Cancer (2001) 84, 975–981. doi:10.1054/bjoc.2001.1704 www.bjcancer.com
Published online 3 April 2001

Postmenopausal endogenous oestrogens and risk of endometrial cancer: results of a prospective study

A Zeleniuch-Jacquotte1,2, A Akhmedkhanov1,3, I Kato4, K L Koenig1,2, R E Shore1,2, M Y Kim1,2, M Levitz3, K R Mittal5, U Raju3, S Banerjee3 and P Toniolo1,2,3

  1. 1Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, 650 First Avenue Room 539, New York, NY, 10016–3240, USA
  2. 2Kaplan Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
  3. 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, 550 First Avenue NB9E2, New York, NY, 10016, USA
  4. 4Department of Pathology, Karmanos Cancer Institute Wayne State University, 110 E Warren Ave., Detroit, MI, USA
  5. 5Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue NB 4 West 35B, New York, NY, 10016, USA

Received 27 September 2000; Revised 16 January 2001; Accepted 3 January 2001.

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Abstract

We assessed the association of postmenopausal serum levels of oestrogens and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with endometrial cancer risk in a case–control study nested within the NYU Women's Health Study cohort. Among 7054 women postmenopausal at enrolment, 57 cases of endometrial cancer were diagnosed a median of 5.5 years after blood donation. Each case was compared to 4 controls matched on age, menopausal status at enrolment, and serum storage duration. Endometrial cancer risk increased with higher levels of oestradiol (odds ratio = 2.4 in highest vs lowest tertile, P for trend = 0.02), percent free oestradiol (OR = 3.5, P< 0.001), and oestrone (OR = 3.9, P< 0.001). Risk decreased with higher levels of percent SHBG-bound oestradiol (OR = 0.43, P = 0.03) and SHBG (OR = 0.39, P = 0.01). Trends remained in the same directions after adjusting for height and body mass index. A positive association of body mass index with risk was substantially reduced after adjusting for oestrone level. Our results indicate that risk of endometrial cancer increases with increasing postmenopausal oestrogen levels but do not provide strong support for a role of body mass index independent of its effect on oestrogen levels. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords:

endometrial cancer, oestrogen, oestradiol, SHBG, nested case–control study, body mass index

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