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Unbalanced estrogen metabolism in thyroid cancer
Author(s) -
Zahid Muhammad,
Goldner Whitney,
Beseler Cheryl L.,
Rogan Eleanor G.,
Cavalieri Ercole L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.28275
Subject(s) - estrogen , endocrinology , medicine , thyroid cancer , thyroid , cancer , urine , chemistry
Well‐differentiated thyroid cancer most frequently occurs in premenopausal women. Greater exposure to estrogens may be a risk factor for thyroid cancer. To investigate the role of estrogens in thyroid cancer, a spot urine sample was obtained from 40 women with thyroid cancer and 40 age‐matched controls. Thirty‐eight estrogen metabolites, conjugates and DNA adducts were analyzed by using ultraperformance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and the ratio of adducts to metabolites and conjugates was calculated for each sample. The ratio of depurinating estrogen‐DNA adducts to estrogen metabolites and conjugates significantly differed between cases and controls ( p < 0.0001), demonstrating high specificity and sensitivity. These findings indicate that estrogen metabolism is unbalanced in thyroid cancer and suggest that formation of estrogen‐DNA adducts might play a role in the initiation of thyroid cancer.