Table 1.
Summary characteristics of the studies on breast tissue estrogens
| Study characteristic | n (%) | Sample size range |
Total sample size across all studies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | |||
| 1980–1989 | 5 (26.3) | 20–164 | 405 |
| 1990–1999 | 7 (36.8) | 8–65 | 189 |
| 2000–2001/2010 | 7 (36.8) | 10–47 | 191 |
| Study population | |||
| Breast cancer patients | 16 (84.2) | 8–164 | 698 |
| Premenopausal | 11 (57.9) | 3–164 | 386 |
| Postmenopausal | 15 (78.9) | 8–64 | 312 |
| Healthy women | 3 (15.8) | 12–47 | 75 |
| Premenopausal | 3 (15.8) | 11–47 | 70 |
| Postmenopausal | 1 (5.3) | 5 | 5 |
| Breast biospecimen source | |||
| Tumor tissue | 12 (63.2) | 16–113 | 451 |
| Adipose (fat) tissue | 3 (15.8) | 16 | 48 |
| Adipocytes separated from the tissue | 1 (5.3) | 65 | 65 |
| Normal tissue | 4 (21.1) | 8–64 | 102 |
| Nipple aspirate | 2 (10.5) | 47–164 | 211 |
| Microdialysis perfusate | 3 (15.8) | 10–16 | 38 |
| Benign breast lesions | 1 (5.3) | 113 | 113 |
| Benign breast tumor | 2 (10.5) | 113 | 125 |
| Estrogen assay* | |||
| Radioimmunoassay (RIA) | 17 (89.5) | 8–164 | 695 |
| Immunoassay (IA) | 4 (21.1) | 10–45 | 83 |
| Estrogen metabolites measured in the study | |||
| 1–2 | 11 (57.9) | 8–164 | 537 |
| 3–4 | 8 (42.1) | 12–64 | 248 |
*
Two studies used both methods