This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1055-9965.EPI-06-0625v1 15/12/2489    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lukanova, A. Articles by Lundin, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lukanova, A. Articles by Lundin, E.

Insulin-like Growth Factor I in Pregnancy and Maternal Risk of Breast Cancer

Departments of ¹ Obstetrics and Gynecology and ² Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York; and Departments of ³ Public Health and Clinical Medicine/Nutritional Research, ⁴ Medical Biosciences, ⁵ Clinical Sciences, ⁶ Oncology, ⁷ Radiation Sciences, and ⁸ Clinical Microbiology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

Requests for reprints: Annekatrin Lukanova, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, NBV 9E2, New York, NY 10016. Phone: 212-263-0486; Fax: 212-263-8887. E-mail: lukana01{at}med.nyu.edu

Background: The role of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I in breast cancer remains controversial, despite numerous reports on the association of the hormone with breast cancer or high-risk mammographic densities. We hypothesized that exposure to elevated IGF-I during early pregnancy, a period characterized by intense cell proliferation in the breasts and in the presence of high concentrations of sex steroids, will be associated with increased maternal risk to develop a breast malignancy.

Methods: The Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort is an ongoing prospective study, collecting blood samples from first-trimester-pregnant women since 1975 as part of screening for infectious diseases. A case-control study (212 cases and 369 controls) was nested among Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort members who delivered singleton babies. RIA was used to measure IGF-I and IGF-II levels. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

Results: Breast cancer risk increased with increasing IGF-I (top tertile OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.7). The association was stronger among the primiparous (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1-4.4) than in the nonprimiparous women (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.7-2.8). Upper-tertile risks seemed to decrease within the <28-, 28 to 33, and >33-year groups of age at sampling, from 2.5 (0.9-7.6) to 2.1 (0.9-5.0) and 1.2 (0.5-2.5), respectively. There was no association of breast cancer with first-trimester-pregnancy IGF-II.

Conclusions: The study offers further evidence that IGF-I is important in breast cancer. Our findings suggest that the adverse effect of IGF-I on the breast may be stronger before the remodeling of the gland induced by a first pregnancy. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(12):2489–93)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Lukanova, R. Andersson, M. Wulff, A. Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, K. Grankvist, L. Dossus, Y. Afanasyeva, R. Johansson, A. A. Arslan, P. Lenner, et al. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Alpha-Fetoprotein Concentrations in Pregnancy and Maternal Risk of Breast Cancer: A Nested Case-Control Study Am. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2008; 168(11): 1284 - 1291. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Lu, K. A. Becker, M. J. Hagen, H. Yan, A. L. Roberts, L. A. Mathews, S. S. Schneider, H. T. Siegelmann, K. J. MacBeth, S. M. Tirrell, et al. Transcriptional Responses to Estrogen and Progesterone in Mammary Gland Identify Networks Regulating p53 Activity Endocrinology, October 1, 2008; 149(10): 4809 - 4820. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]