Title of Collaborative Activity: |
Circulating Estrogens, Androgens, and Progestogens and Risk of Breast Cancer in the PLCO Cohort |
Description of Collaborative Activity: |
In a stratified cohort study of breast cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO), restricted to postmenopausal women not on menopausal hormone therapy, we are using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay recently developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assess prediagnostic circulating levels of the endogenous steroid hormones believed to be involved in breast cancer etiology. Although it is known that endogenous hormones play a critical role in the etiology of breast cancer, the interrelationships among estrogens, androgens, and progesterone in determining risk are not well understood. |
