BREAST CANCER AND PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO ESTROGENS

描述：(改编自《调查者摘要》) 乳腺癌在大多数人群中都在增加。这突显了 需要更好地了解疾病的病因，这可能 最终导致预防性干预。尽管有几个风险 乳腺癌的致病因素已经确定，但还不可能 解释这种疾病的发生模式。雌激素在体内 成年期仍然是主要的候选对象，但证据大多是 推论和间接的；大多数研究的结果是 总体而言是暗示，但远不是决定性的。 这项拟议研究的工作假设假设高 怀孕期间的雌激素水平增加了未来的可能性 通过直接影响在后代中发生乳腺癌 关于部分未分化和可能高度敏感的 胎儿的乳腺组织。这项研究将通过以下方式评估这一假设 比较不同年龄组人群的主要孕期雌激素水平 乳腺癌的高风险(波士顿的高加索妇女)和人群 这种疾病的风险很低(亚洲人，主要是上海的农村妇女)。 12、28日母血中主要雌激素水平的变化 将在怀孕几周内从300名妇女的血清中进行检查 每个中锋。据预测，怀孕期间的雌激素水平会更高。 患乳腺癌风险较高的妇女，即波士顿和波士顿的妇女 中心，社会经济阶层较高的妇女，年龄较大，第一 奇偶性。拟议的研究还将有另外两个目标，如 以下是：(1)确定高水平妊娠雌激素的相关因素 (例如，出生体重、产次、母亲肥胖、严重恶心 怀孕)，以便利用它们作为替代暴露变量 探索产前暴露于内源性雌激素的作用的研究 在人类乳腺癌的病因学上，和(2)确定饮食 或妊娠雌激素的其他决定因素，可能有较长期的 预防干预的观点(评估饮食摄入量的研究 怀孕将只在波士顿进行)。

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from Investigator's Abstract) Mortality from breast cancer is increasing in most population groups.This underlines the need for a better understanding of the etiology of the disease that could eventually lead to preventive interventions. Although several risk factors for breast cancer have been identified, it has not been possible to explain the occurrence pattern of the disease. Estrogens during adulthood remain primary candidates, but the evidence is mostly inferential and indirect; the results of most studies have been collectively suggestive but far from conclusive. The working hypothesis for the proposed study postulates that the high levels of estrogens during pregnancy increase the probability of future occurrence of breast cancer in the offspring through direct influences on the partially undifferentiated and probably highly susceptible mammary tissue of the fetus. The study will evaluate this hypothesis by comparing levels of major pregnancy estrogens between a population at high risk for breast cancer (Caucasian women in Boston) and a population at low risk for this disease (Asian and mostly rural women in Shanghai). Levels of major estrogens in the maternal blood during the 12th and 28th weeks of pregnancy will be examined in sera obtained from 300 women in each center. It is predicted that pregnancy estrogens will be higher in women at higher risk for breast cancer, i.e., women in Boston and within centers, women of higher socioeconomic class, older age, and first parity. The proposed study will also have two other objectives, as follow: (1) to identify correlates of high levels of pregnancy estrogens (e.g., birth weight, parity, maternal obesity, severe nausea during pregnancy) in order to utilize them as proxy exposure variables in studies exploring the role of prenatal exposure to endogenous estrogens in the etiology of breast cancer in humans, and (2) to identify dietary or other determinants of pregnancy estrogens, with a possible longer-term view to preventive intervention (studies assessing dietary intakes during pregnancy will be done only in Boston).