Skip to main content
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 2001 Dec;85(12):1838–1841. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2001.2191

Effect of raloxifene on IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in postmenopausal women with breast cancer

R Torrisi 1, L Baglietto 3, H Johansson 1,2, G Veronesi 4, B Bonanni 1, A Guerrieri-Gonzaga 1, B Ballardini 4, A Decensi 1
PMCID: PMC2364027  PMID: 11747323

Abstract

The effect on the IGF system of 60 mg and 600 mg daily of raloxifene administered for 2 weeks prior to surgery was investigated in 37 postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Raloxifene significantly decreased insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) as compared to placebo (P < 0.05) with no dose–response relationship. No significant change was observed in IGFBP-3, while the IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio was decreased by treatment, with a statistically significant effect only for the higher dose. Given that high plasma levels of IGF-I have been suggested as a risk factor for breast cancer, these findings provide further support for the potential activity of raloxifene in breast cancer prevention. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com

Keywords: breast cancer prevention, SERMs, IGF system

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (52.3 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baserga R. The insulin-like growth factor I receptor: a key to tumor growth? Cancer Res. 1995 Jan 15;55(2):249–252. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boonen S., Mohan S., Dequeker J., Aerssens J., Vanderschueren D., Verbeke G., Broos P., Bouillon R., Baylink D. J. Down-regulation of the serum stimulatory components of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system (IGF-I, IGF-II, IGF binding protein [BP]-3, and IGFBP-5) in age-related (type II) femoral neck osteoporosis. J Bone Miner Res. 1999 Dec;14(12):2150–2158. doi: 10.1359/jbmr.1999.14.12.2150. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brown P. H., Lippman S. M. Chemoprevention of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2000 Jul;62(1):1–17. doi: 10.1023/a:1006484604454. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burroughs K. D., Dunn S. E., Barrett J. C., Taylor J. A. Insulin-like growth factor-I: a key regulator of human cancer risk? J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999 Apr 7;91(7):579–581. doi: 10.1093/jnci/91.7.579. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Buzdar A. U., Marcus C., Holmes F., Hug V., Hortobagyi G. Phase II evaluation of Ly156758 in metastatic breast cancer. Oncology. 1988;45(5):344–345. doi: 10.1159/000226637. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cauley J. A., Norton L., Lippman M. E., Eckert S., Krueger K. A., Purdie D. W., Farrerons J., Karasik A., Mellstrom D., Ng K. W. Continued breast cancer risk reduction in postmenopausal women treated with raloxifene: 4-year results from the MORE trial. Multiple outcomes of raloxifene evaluation. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2001 Jan;65(2):125–134. doi: 10.1023/a:1006478317173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Collins D., Woods A., Herd R., Blake G., Fogelman I., Wheeler M., Swaminathan R. Insulin-like growth factor-I and bone mineral density. Bone. 1998 Jul;23(1):13–16. doi: 10.1016/s8756-3282(98)00066-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cummings S. R., Eckert S., Krueger K. A., Grady D., Powles T. J., Cauley J. A., Norton L., Nickelsen T., Bjarnason N. H., Morrow M. The effect of raloxifene on risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: results from the MORE randomized trial. Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation. JAMA. 1999 Jun 16;281(23):2189–2197. doi: 10.1001/jama.281.23.2189. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Daughaday W. H., Mariz I. K., Blethen S. L. Inhibition of access of bound somatomedin to membrane receptor and immunobinding sites: a comparison of radioreceptor and radioimmunoassay of somatomedin in native and acid-ethanol-extracted serum. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1980 Oct;51(4):781–788. doi: 10.1210/jcem-51-4-781. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Decensi A., Bonanni B., Guerrieri-Gonzaga A., Gandini S., Robertson C., Johansson H., Travaglini R., Sandri M. T., Tessadrelli A., Farante G. Biologic activity of tamoxifen at low doses in healthy women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998 Oct 7;90(19):1461–1467. doi: 10.1093/jnci/90.19.1461. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ettinger B., Black D. M., Mitlak B. H., Knickerbocker R. K., Nickelsen T., Genant H. K., Christiansen C., Delmas P. D., Zanchetta J. R., Stakkestad J. Reduction of vertebral fracture risk in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis treated with raloxifene: results from a 3-year randomized clinical trial. Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation (MORE) Investigators. JAMA. 1999 Aug 18;282(7):637–645. doi: 10.1001/jama.282.7.637. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Fisher B., Costantino J. P., Wickerham D. L., Redmond C. K., Kavanah M., Cronin W. M., Vogel V., Robidoux A., Dimitrov N., Atkins J. Tamoxifen for prevention of breast cancer: report of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project P-1 Study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998 Sep 16;90(18):1371–1388. doi: 10.1093/jnci/90.18.1371. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Garnero P., Sornay-Rendu E., Delmas P. D. Low serum IGF-1 and occurrence of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. Lancet. 2000 Mar 11;355(9207):898–899. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(99)05463-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gradishar W., Glusman J., Lu Y., Vogel C., Cohen F. J., Sledge G. W., Jr Effects of high dose raloxifene in selected patients with advanced breast carcinoma. Cancer. 2000 May 1;88(9):2047–2053. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(20000501)88:9<2047::aid-cncr10>3.0.co;2-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hankinson S. E., Willett W. C., Colditz G. A., Hunter D. J., Michaud D. S., Deroo B., Rosner B., Speizer F. E., Pollak M. Circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I and risk of breast cancer. Lancet. 1998 May 9;351(9113):1393–1396. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)10384-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Helle S. I., Anker G. B., Tally M., Hall K., Lønning P. E. Influence of droloxifene on plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, Pro-IGF-IIE, insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-1 and IGFBP-3 in breast cancer patients. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1996 Feb;57(3-4):167–171. doi: 10.1016/0960-0760(95)00257-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kelloff G. J., Boone C. W., Crowell J. A., Steele V. E., Lubet R., Doody L. A. Surrogate endpoint biomarkers for phase II cancer chemoprevention trials. J Cell Biochem Suppl. 1994;19:1–9. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Lønning P. E., Hall K., Aakvaag A., Lien E. A. Influence of tamoxifen on plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein I in breast cancer patients. Cancer Res. 1992 Sep 1;52(17):4719–4723. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ng S. T., Zhou J., Adesanya O. O., Wang J., LeRoith D., Bondy C. A. Growth hormone treatment induces mammary gland hyperplasia in aging primates. Nat Med. 1997 Oct;3(10):1141–1144. doi: 10.1038/nm1097-1141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Pollak M. N. Endocrine effects of IGF-I on normal and transformed breast epithelial cells: potential relevance to strategies for breast cancer treatment and prevention. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1998 Feb;47(3):209–217. doi: 10.1023/a:1005950916707. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Pollak M. Insulin-like growth factor physiology and cancer risk. Eur J Cancer. 2000 Jun;36(10):1224–1228. doi: 10.1016/s0959-8049(00)00102-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Radmacher M. D., Simon R. Estimation of tamoxifen's efficacy for preventing the formation and growth of breast tumors. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Jan 5;92(1):48–53. doi: 10.1093/jnci/92.1.48. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Toniolo P., Bruning P. F., Akhmedkhanov A., Bonfrer J. M., Koenig K. L., Lukanova A., Shore R. E., Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A. Serum insulin-like growth factor-I and breast cancer. Int J Cancer. 2000 Dec 1;88(5):828–832. doi: 10.1002/1097-0215(20001201)88:5<828::aid-ijc22>3.0.co;2-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Torrisi R., Pensa F., Orengo M. A., Catsafados E., Ponzani P., Boccardo F., Costa A., Decensi A. The synthetic retinoid fenretinide lowers plasma insulin-like growth factor I levels in breast cancer patients. Cancer Res. 1993 Oct 15;53(20):4769–4771. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Vadgama J. V., Wu Y., Datta G., Khan H., Chillar R. Plasma insulin-like growth factor-I and serum IGF-binding protein 3 can be associated with the progression of breast cancer, and predict the risk of recurrence and the probability of survival in African-American and Hispanic women. Oncology. 1999 Nov;57(4):330–340. doi: 10.1159/000012052. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Veronesi U., De Palo G., Marubini E., Costa A., Formelli F., Mariani L., Decensi A., Camerini T., Del Turco M. R., Di Mauro M. G. Randomized trial of fenretinide to prevent second breast malignancy in women with early breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999 Nov 3;91(21):1847–1856. doi: 10.1093/jnci/91.21.1847. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Yakar S., Liu J. L., Stannard B., Butler A., Accili D., Sauer B., LeRoith D. Normal growth and development in the absence of hepatic insulin-like growth factor I. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Jun 22;96(13):7324–7329. doi: 10.1073/pnas.96.13.7324. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Yu H., Rohan T. Role of the insulin-like growth factor family in cancer development and progression. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Sep 20;92(18):1472–1489. doi: 10.1093/jnci/92.18.1472. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES