Table 2.
Median concentrations and interdecile ranges (IDR) of androgens, androgen metabolites, and parent estrogens (and ratios of relevant hormone concentrations) among controls and ovarian cancer cases, overall and by serous/non-serous subtype.
| Controls (n=410) | All ovarian cancer cases (n=169) | Serous cases (n=102) | Non-serous cases (n=67) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro-androgens/androgens | Median | (IDR) | Median | (IDR) | Pa | Median | (IDR) | Median | (IDR) | Pb |
| dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), nmol/L | 4.9 | (2.0–10.4) | 4.9 | (1.9–10.3) | 0.94 | 4.7 | (1.7–8.3) | 5.4 | (2.4–11.1) | 0.10 |
| DHEA sulfate (DHEAS), nmol/L | 1113 | (411–2511) | 1118 | (448–2398) | 0.60 | 1044 | (428–2119) | 1221 | (564–2792) | 0.05 |
| Androstenedione, nmol/L | 1.3 | (0.7–2.3) | 1.3 | (0.8–2.3) | 0.74 | 1.2 | (0.8–2.0) | 1.4 | (0.8–2.6) | 0.08 |
| Testosterone, nmol/L | 0.6 | (0.3–1.0) | 0.6 | (0.3–1.1) | 0.17 | 0.6 | (0.3–1.0) | 0.6 | (0.3–1.1) | 0.26 |
| 5α-reduced androgens | ||||||||||
| 5α-androstanedione, nmol/L | 1.2 | (0.7–2.3) | 1.3 | (0.7–2.3) | 0.55 | 1.3 | (0.8–2.1) | 1.3 | (0.7–2.6) | 0.78 |
| Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), nmol/L | 0.2 | (0.1–0.3) | 0.2 | (0.1–0.3) | 0.77 | 0.2 | (0.1–0.3) | 0.2 | (0.1–0.3) | 0.55 |
| DHT sulfate (DHTS), nmol/L | 1.0 | (0.4–2.1) | 1.1 | (0.5–2.2) | 0.45 | 1.0 | (0.5–2.1) | 1.2 | (0.5–2.3) | 0.24 |
| Androsterone (ADT), nmol/L | 0.5 | (0.3–0.9) | 0.5 | (0.3–0.8) | 0.42 | 0.5 | (0.3–0.8) | 0.5 | (0.4–0.8) | 0.68 |
| ADT glucuronide (ADT-G), nmol/L | 19.3 | (7.0–52.3) | 19.4 | (8.1–60.0) | 0.59 | 16.5 | (6.4–45.6) | 22.1 | (13.3–69.4) | 0.01 |
| 5α-androstane-3α,17β diol-3-glucuronide (3α-diol-3G), nmol/L | 1.3 | (0.5–3.6) | 1.2 | (0.5–3.7) | 0.69 | 1.2 | (0.5–3.6) | 1.5 | (0.6–4.1) | 0.16 |
| 3α-diol-17-glucuronide (3α-diol-17G), nmol/L | 1.2 | (0.4–3.0) | 1.2 | (0.5–3.0) | 0.80 | 1.2 | (0.5–2.3) | 1.4 | (0.5–4.3) | 0.14 |
| Total 5α-reduced glucuronide metabolites | ||||||||||
| Σ(ADT-G, 3α-diol-3G, 3α-diol-17G), nmol/L | 22.1 | (8.3–57.7) | 21.9 | (9.3–64.2) | 0.70 | 19.2 | (8.0–52.5) | 25.2 | (14.8–77.9) | 0.01 |
| 5β-reduced androgen | ||||||||||
| Etiocholanolone-glucuronide, nmol/L | 32.1 | (11.9–84.9) | 30.4 | (13.6–80.2) | 0.72 | 28.5 | (11.9–71.4) | 34.1 | (16.8–85.6) | 0.16 |
| Parent estrogens | ||||||||||
| Unconjugated Estrone, pmol/L | 55.4 | (29.0–112) | 58.9 | (29.6–154) | 0.20 | 52.0 | (30.7–133) | 65.5 | (28.6–174) | 0.03 |
| Unconjugated estradiol, pmol/L | 11.6 | (4.0–37.4) | 12.2 | (4.2–42.7) | 0.19 | 10.4 | (4.3–38.3) | 15.8 | (4.2–70.1) | 0.01 |
| Ratios of parent estrogens to androgens | ||||||||||
| Unconjugated estradiol/Androstenedione | 8.6 | (3.3–29.0) | 9.4 | (3.9–33.1) | 0.24 | 8.3 | (4.0–27.0) | 10.3 | (3.9–47.2) | 0.10 |
| Unconjugated estradiol/Testosterone | 19.8 | (7.6–68.7) | 21.2 | (8.2–82.9) | 0.61 | 18.6 | (7.8–68.3) | 26.0 | (9.6–117) | 0.06 |
a
P value from Wilcoxon test comparing two groups (controls and all ovarian cancer cases)
b
P value from Kruskal-Wallis test comparing three groups (controls, serous cases, and non-serous cases)