CONCLUSION: Some phytoestrogenic compounds, at the levels consumed in the typical American-style diet, are associated with
reduced risk of endometrial cancer. PMID: 12902445
American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 154, No. 5 : 434-441
Copyright � 2001 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
Phytoestrogen intake was
not associated with breast cancer risk
(odds ratio = 1.0, 95% confidence interval: 0.80, 1.3 for the highest vs. lowest quartile). Results were similar for pre- and postmenopausal women, for women in each ethnic group, and for all seven phytoestrogenic compounds studied.
Phytoestrogens appear to have little effect on breast cancer risk at the levels commonly consumed by non-Asian US women: an average intake equivalent to less than one serving of tofu per week.
kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
Thank you, Marnie. Estrogen is not bad. An IMBALANCE, is. The replacement should match our molecular structure. Many plants match, horse urine does not.
Due to our diets (meat injected with estrogen to fatten them up) and chemical exposure and stress, estrogen is the survival hormone that stays when all the other hormones are gobbled up.
Sometimes, just supplementing with bio-identical progesterone cream will help the balance.
posted
It is important for woman with estrogen sensitive cancers or taking HRT to realize that there may be risks associated with some of these phytoestrogens.
I realize that the benefits of pytoestrogens are wonderful and some of them like resveratrol may have anti-cancer benefits but in the case of estrogen sensitive cancers they may cause more growth.
This was my concern when I posted under Jennifers question about Resveratrol, that there may be women taking large quantities of resveratrol on the Buhner protocol who may have had breast cancer and are unaware of the studies or have not spoken with their doctors.
Soy May Fuel Estrogen-Positive Breast Cancers Individualized Plan May Help Women
Article date: 2001/08/03 The soy protein genistein may cause breast tumors fueled by estrogen to grow faster, in direct relationship to how much is consumed, according to a report in a recent issue of Cancer Research (Vol. 61: 5045-5050).
Genistein's high concentrations in some protein powders and over-the-counter products sold to relieve menopausal symptoms has experts worried that women with estrogen-sensitive breast cancer, who are choosing soy extract products to avoid the estrogen in hormone replacement therapy (HRT), could be promoting their tumors' growth.
"Over 90% of soy consumption is likely to be a health benefit to Americans," says William G. Helferich, PhD, associate professor of nutrition in the University of Illinois department of food science and human nutrition and principal investigator for the study. "But I am concerned about the woman with an estrogen-dependent cancer looking for an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. She needs to be very careful about the amount of soy isoflavones she consumes, regardless of the source," he emphasizes.
Human Estrogen Can Help or Hurt
The female hormone estrogen helps keep a woman's bones strong, may increase mental clarity, and can help the vagina stay lubricated during intercourse. For these and other reasons, doctors may recommend a woman take prescription estrogen when her ovaries quit producing it after menopause.
But estrogen also can increase the risk of some cancers and can fuel the growth of breast tumors made up of cells with many receptors for estrogen (ER-positive breast cancer). So experts suggest every woman understand her own cancer risk factors and talk with her doctor about whether to use HRT.
Plant Estrogens Can Mimic Human Estrogens
It has been known for some time that some proteins in soy, such as genistein, chemically resemble human estrogen so much that they are called phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) and may have similar effects, both good and bad.
Studies done in Asian countries suggest that eating soy foods before puberty may lower the risk of female breast cancer in later years, by helping breast cells become more mature -- a process called differentiation that reduces the chances the cells will turn malignant later.
But Helferich's study suggests that after menopause, soy phytoestrogens may produce some risks similar to those of human estrogen or HRT.
Genistein Speeds Growth of Breast Tumors in Mice
Helferich and colleagues used female mice from whom ovaries had been removed so that their hormone levels would resemble those of women past menopause with very little or no estrogen circulating in the blood.
They injected human ER-positive breast cancer cells into the mice. After tumors were established, different groups of mice got low, medium, and high levels of genistein in their diets, while other mice got none.
Over a period of seven months, the tumors grew larger the more genistein was consumed. Tumors of mice getting medium amounts of genistein grew about four times larger than those getting little or none, and tumors of those getting the highest amounts of genistein grew about eight times larger than those getting the least.
Important to Share Information with Doctors, Expert Says
"This is an animal study, and we can't know whether the same effects would be seen in humans," says Marji McCullough, ScD, RD, a nutritional epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society (ACS). "But this study alerts us to the fact that biologically active compounds such as soy phytoestrogens may have adverse effects as well as beneficial ones."
McCullough says it's too early to tell whether genistein's benefits to women might outweigh any risks.
"We still have a lot to learn about the biological complexity of these compounds in humans," she notes. "It is always important that women let their doctors know the amount and kind of any supplements and drugs they're taking," concludes McCullough, "so that the advice they get can be based on the latest known facts."
Endogenous estrogens are steroid hormones synthesized by humans and other mammals that bind to estrogen receptors within cells. The estrogen-receptor complex interacts with unique sequences in DNA to modulate the expression of estrogen-responsive genes (15). A compound that binds to estrogen receptors and elicits similar responses to endogenous estrogens is considered an estrogen agonist, while a compound that binds estrogen receptors but prevents or inhibits the response elicited by endogenous estrogens is considered an estrogen antagonist. The chemical structure of resveratrol is very similar to that of the synthetic estrogen agonist, diethylstilbestrol (see figure 2), suggesting that resveratrol might also function as an estrogen agonist. However, in cell culture experiments resveratrol acts as an estrogen agonist under some conditions, and an estrogen antagonist under other conditions (16, 17). In estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells, resveratrol acted as an estrogen agonist in the absence of the endogenous estrogen, 17beta-estradiol, but acted as an estrogen antagonist in the presence of 17beta-estradiol (18, 19). At present, it appears that resveratrol has the potential to act as an estrogen agonist or antagonist depending on such factors as cell type, estrogen receptor isoform (ER alpha or ER beta), and the presence of endogenous estrogens (15).
Biological Activities Related to Cancer Prevention
Linus Pauling Institute.
Posts: 465 | From New York, NY | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Thank you for your help here . I HAVE read multiple articles warning women that phytoestrogens may not be a good idea if every case . A lot of these " natural" hormones do the SAME thing as estrogen supplements .
I have a close friend who lost her life to breast cancer and felt it was totally due to hormone therapy . She was young and extremely healthy .
I am 50 , but have high levels of estrogen , and have for years .
I am not personally comfortable with high doses of the resveratrol. There may be no threat , but I will try to substitute something else that makes me less nervous .
Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Here are more RECENT abstracts. (Keep in mind estrogen COMES FROM cholesterol.Estrogen is a steroid hormone.)
J Clin Oncol. 2007 Feb 20;25(6):648-55. Epub 2007 Jan 2.
CONCLUSION: High genistein circulation levels are associated with
reduced breast cancer risk
in the Dutch population. No effects of lignans on breast cancer risk were observed.
PMID: 17200150
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Feb;51(2):171-7.
Genistein and daidzein increased the expression of estrogen-responsive genes in MCF-7 cells.
PMID: 17266178
Clin Cancer Res. 2007 Feb 1;13(3):1061-7.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that flaxseed and its lignans have potent antiestrogenic effects on estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and may prove to be beneficial in breast cancer prevention strategies in the future.
PMID: 17289903
Reprod Toxicol. 2006 Dec 10;
Mice fed diets high in n-3 PUFAs developed mammary tumors 15 weeks *later* than mice fed n-6 PUFA diets. In the latter mice, isoflavone exposure from weaning onwards resulted in a significant decrease in tumor incidence and a delay in tumor onset.
Therefore, the effects of phytoestrogen exposure on tumor formation appear to depend on the composition of the background diet and on the timing of exposure within the life cycle.
(My note: the typical American diet is skewed towards too many Omega 6s and not enough Omega 3s which may increase the breast cancer risk.)
Nutr Cancer. 2006;56(1):3-10
In women with higher intakes of phytoestrogens, there was a 32% reduction in the odds of being diagnosed with any stage of cancer other than stage 1
(95% confidence interval, CI = 0.49-0.93; P = 0.02), a 38% reduction in odds of being diagnosed with positive lymphovascular invasion (95% CI = 0.40-0.95; P = 0.03), and a 66% increase in the odds of being diagnosed with a positive progesterone receptor (95% CI = 1.06-2.58; P = 0.03).
We conclude that phytoestrogen intake prior to diagnosis may improve prognosis of breast cancer.
PMID: 17176212
Cancer Causes Control. 2006 Dec;17(10):1253-61
CONCLUSION: Adolescent dietary phytoestrogen intake may be associated with a decreased risk of adult breast cancer.
If verified, this finding has important implications with regard to breast cancer prevention since diet is a potentially modifiable factor.
PMID: 17111256
Not so recent:
Source: Oregon Health & Science University Date: June 10, 2004
New Study Shows Estrogen Patches Lower Cholesterol In Men With Prostate Cancer
We all have heard that the rate of breast cancer in Japanese women is lower than here. Interesting, but many Japanese (a fairly high percentage) also cannot tolerate alcohol because the gene to breakdown acetaldehyde is missing.
"After adjustment for age, daily alcohol consumption and amount of cigarette smoking, significantly increased risks (odds ratios) in the presence of the ALDH2 *2 allele were found for oropharyngolaryngeal (11.14), esophageal (12.50), stomach (3.49), colon (3.35), lung (8.20) and esophageal cancer concomitant with oropharyngolaryngeal and/or stomach cancer (54.20) but not for liver or other cancers.
These results suggest a general role of acetaldehyde, a recognized animal carcinogen, in the development of human cancers."
Research "hangover helper" to see how to increase acetaldehyde dehydrogenase...the enzyme that helps breakdown acetaldehyde.
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