Hormone mix may cut breast cancer risk in menopausal women.Byline: ANI Washington, Oct 20 (ANI): A right mix of estrogen and a selective estrogen receptor modulator se·lec·tive estrogen receptor modulator n. Abbr. SERM A nonsteroidal compound, such as raloxifene or tamoxifen, designed to mimic the effect of estrogen on a specific tissue or body part by binding only to that part's estrogen receptors. (SERM SERM abbr. selective estrogen receptor modulator SERM Selective estrogen receptor modulator, see there ), which blocks the effects of estrogen in breast tissue, can significantly reduce breast cancer risk in menopausal women, say researchers Women in menopause who have symptoms are currently treated with a combination of estrogen plus progestin progestin /pro·ges·tin/ (-jes´tin) progestational agent. pro·ges·tin n. 1. A natural or synthetic progestational substance that mimics some or all of the actions of progesterone. hormone therapy, however this treatment comes with side effects, including a higher risk of breast cancer caused by the progestin. Yale researchers sought to determine a better way of administering hormone therapy without the breast cancer risk. During the study, lead researcher Dr Hugh S. Taylor, professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale, and his colleagues treated breast and endometrial endometrial /en·do·me·tri·al/ (en?do-me´tre-il) pertaining to the endometrium. endometrial, n relating to the end-ometrium or cavity of the uterus. cell lines with either estrogen or estrogen plus one of the SERMs. They later looked at various markers of cell growth, including proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA PCNA Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen PCNA Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association PCNA Pepsi Cola North America PCNA Post Conflict Needs Assessment (United Nations) PCNA Pudelpointer Club of North America ), one of the best-characterized markers of cell growth. The team found that PCNA was increased when they stimulated cells with estrogen and decreased when they added a SERM, indicating that the SERM blocked cell growth. Taylor said that breast and uterine cells won't be stimulated by the estrogen plus SERM combination, so women in menopause get the benefits of estrogen without the risk of progestin. Progestin is a double-edged sword, Taylor said. It poses a breast cancer risk, but if you use estrogen alone without progestin, there is a higher risk of uterine cancer. Therefore SERMs appear to be a good substitute for progestin. "In our study, the right combination of estrogen and various SERMs was able to prevent the proliferation of breast and endometrial cells," said Taylor. "These preliminary findings could lead to a better way of administering hormone therapy to women in menopause," he added. The findings were presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM ASRM American Society for Reproductive Medicine (formerly: American Fertility Society) ASRM Alberta Section of Rural Medicine ASRM Assault Squadron Royal Marines ASRM Abort Solid Rocket Motor ) scientific meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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