Exploiting for Breast Cancer Control a Proposed Unified Mechanism for Reduction of Human Breast Cancer Risk by the Hormones of Pregnancy
Abstract
Carcinogen-treated rats that are mated and produce lifters will develop fewer mammary cancers than if they had remained virgin. This constitutes a model for studying how parity reduces breast cancer risk for women. Employing the model, investigators have given pregnancy-associated hormones in lieu of pregnancy to carcinogen-treated rats to assess their cancer-inhibiting capability. Investigators gave estriol (E3), E3 plus progesterone (P4), estradiol (E2) plus P4, human chorionic gonadotropin, and (by us) alphafetoprotein (AFP). Perplexingly, all the treatments reduced breast cancer incidence. Out purpose is to test the hypothesis that each of the hormone treatments elicited AFP from the adult liver, which has been the proximal antioncotic in each case. We replicated the above published hormone treatments (5 groups of 30 rats) using the published doses and schedules, and found significantly reduced cancer incidence in every experiment. Blood was drawn three times from each group during the treatment and once after treatment for assay of rat AFP. These are in progress. If they show AFP present following all of the hormone challenges, it is likely that cancer inhibition is produced by a common inhibitor (AFP), and that subsequent effort for drug development should stress AFP and AFP analogs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA437189
Entities
People
- Herbet Jacobson
- James A. Bennett
- Thomas T. Andersen
Organizations
- Albany Medical College