Estrogen Metabolism and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Prospective Study

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States (IARC 1995) and the second most common in the European Community (IARC 1995). The causes of prostate cancer however remain largely unknown with age race and family history being the only established risk factors (Nomura et al. 1997). The prostate gland has historically been considered the prototype of an androgen-dependent organ. However there is evidence that estrogens may induce mitosis of prostatic epithelial cells in many species including humans (Leave et al. 1978; Schulze et al. 1987). This report analyzes the association between prostate cancer and estrogen metabolism investigated in a case-control study. In particular we tested the hypothesis that the pathway favoring 2-hydroxylation over 160-hydroxylation may be associated with a decrease in prostate cancer risk. This is the final report for the study. During the final year of activity we completed determinations of the estrogen metabolites using gas-chromatography and carried out statistical analysis. We have also prepared an article for publication of the results.