ArticleCancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology2021
The Steroid Metabolome and Breast Cancer Risk in Women with a Family History of Breast Cancer: The Novel Role of Adrenal Androgens and Glucocorticoids.
Article in Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gendered interpretations of the causes of breast cancer: a structured review of migrant studies.BMC women's health · 2025Pooled it
- Cholesterol and Its Derivatives: Multifaceted Players in Breast Cancer Progression.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Steroids, stress, and body mass index interact to accelerate female pubertal development.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- A malignant symbiosis: The neuro-metabolic symphony rewires the tumor microenvironment.Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Review
- Estrogen metabolites in premenopausal women living in China, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Androgen receptor localisation and protein interactions provide insight into steroid mediated metabolic shifts in endocrine resistant breast cancer.NPJ breast cancer · 2026Article
- Pre-diagnostic serum metabolome and breast cancer risk: a nested case-control study.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2025Article
- Urinary Androgens Provide Additional Evidence Related to Metabolism and Are Correlated With Serum Androgens in Girls.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2024Article
- C11-hydroxy and C11-oxo CInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Update Breast Cancer 2023 Part 1 - Early Stage Breast Cancer.Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde · 2023Article
- Inclusion of 11-Oxygenated Androgens in a Clinical Routine LC-MS/MS Setup for Steroid Hormone Profiling.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNo study has comprehensively examined how the steroid metabolome is associated with breast cancer risk in women with familial risk.
methodsWe examined 36 steroid metabolites across the spectrum of familial risk (5-year risk ranged from 0.14% to 23.8%) in pre- and postmenopausal women participating in the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR). We conducted a nested case-control study with 62 cases/124 controls individually matched on menopausal status, age, and race. We measured metabolites using GC-MS in urine samples collected at baseline before the onset of prospectively ascertained cases. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) per doubling in hormone levels.
resultsThe average proportion of total steroid metabolites in the study sample were glucocorticoids (61%), androgens (26%), progestogens (11%), and estrogens (2%). A doubling in glucocorticoids (aOR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.3-5.3) and androgens (aOR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.0-2.7) was associated with increased breast cancer risk. Specific glucocorticoids (THE, THF αTHF, 6β-OH-F, THA, and α-THB) were associated with 49% to 161% increased risk. Two androgen metabolites (AN and 11-OH-AN) were associated with 70% (aOR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.1-2.7) and 90% (aOR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.2-3.1) increased risk, respectively. One intermediate metabolite of a cortisol precursor (THS) was associated with 65% (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.0-2.7) increased risk. E1 and E2 estrogens were associated with 20% and 27% decreased risk, respectively.
conclusionsResults suggest that glucocorticoids and 11-oxygenated androgens are positively associated with breast cancer risk across the familial risk spectrum. IMPACT: If replicated, our findings suggest great potential of including steroids into existing breast cancer risk assessment tools.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.