Table 1.
Hormone levels among postmenopausal women not taking hormones in the Nurses' Health Study and the individual association between each hormone and breast cancer risk overall and for estrogen receptor-positive tumors
| Median (10th to 90th percentile) | RR, top vs bottom quintile (95% CI)a, b | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hormones | Cases | Controls | All cases | ER-positive cases |
| Estrone (pg/ml) | 28 (15 to 49) | 24 (14 to 43) | 2.1 (1.3 to 3.4) | 2.8 (1.5 to 5.3) |
| Estradiol (pg/ml) | 8 (4 to 17) | 6 (4 to 14) | 2.4 (1.4 to 4.1) | 2.9 (1.4 to 5.9) |
| Estrone sulfate (pg/ml) | 276 (102 to 733) | 222 (98 to 577) | 2.4 (1.5 to 3.9) | 2.2 (1.2 to 4.0) |
| Testosterone (ng/ml) | 24 (14 to 49) | 22 (12 to 40) | 1.8 (1.1 to 2.9) | 2.0 (1.0 to 3.7) |
| Androstenedione (ng/ml) | 63 (35 to 108) | 57 (30 to 108) | 2.1 (1.3 to 3.6) | 2.6 (1.3 to 5.0) |
| DHEA (ng/dl) | 234 (104 to 506) | 218 (93 to 435) | 1.5 (0.9 to 2.4) | 1.6 (0.9 to 2.9) |
| DHEAS (μg/dl) | 92 (41 to 224) | 85 (33 to 175) | 2.5 (1.4 to 4.2) | 2.0 (1.0 to 3.8) |
| Prolactin (ng/ml) | 8.2 (4.9 to 14.8) | 8.0 (4.9 to 14.0) | 1.1 (0.7 to 1.7) | 1.7 (0.9 to 3.1) |
| IGF-1 (ng/ml) | 152 (98 to 252) | 153 (98 to 242) | 1.1 (0.6 to 2.0) | 1.4 (0.7 to 2.7) |
| c-peptide (ng/ml) | 1.71 (0.66 to 4.11) | 1.53 (0.61 to 4.03) | 1.4 (0.8 to 2.4) | 1.4 (0.7 to 3.0) |
DHEA = dehydroepiandrosterone; DHEAS = dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; ER = estrogen receptor; IGF-1 = insulin-like growth factor 1. aRR and 95% CI were adjusted for age at blood draw and menopause, parity, history of benign breast disease, family history of breast cancer, fasting status and time of day of blood draw. bFor all hormones (except IGF-1 and c-peptide), n = 265 total cases (invasive and in situ), n = 147 ER-positive, invasive cases, and n = 541 controls; for IGF-1 and c-peptide, n = 182 total cases (invasive and in situ), n = 105 ER-positive, invasive cases, and n = 370 controls.