AUTHOR=Jiang Chuner , Wu Peng , He Xiangming , Ni Jianfen , Ding Xiaowen , Xu Xiaohong , Wang Fangzheng , Zou Dehong 

TITLE=Associations Between Serum Reproductive Hormone Concentrations and Hormonal Receptor Status Among Postmenopausal Chinese Women With Breast Cancer: An Observational Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.819756

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.819756

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=Background and Objectives: Reproductive hormones and receptors play crucial roles in breast cancer development and progression. The association between preoperative serum reproductive hormone levels and receptor status in postmenopausal (PMP) women with breast cancer remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between serum reproductive hormone concentrations and patient characteristics and hormone receptor status among PMP Chinese women with breast cancer. 
Materials and Methods: The medical records of 352 PMP breast cancer patients who underwent an operation between October 2007 and October 2010 at the Department of Breast Tumor Surgery of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital were retrospectively evaluated. Serum levels of reproductive hormones were measured before surgery by liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Hormone receptor levels were measured by immunohistochemical assay using a mouse monoclonal antibody. The associations between serum hormone concentrations and hormone receptors were investigated by analysis of covariance. 
Results: In this patient cohort, the serum level of luteinizing hormone (LH) declined with PMP duration. The median LH concentration was significantly higher in patients within 5 years of PMP than that in patients with PMP duration exceeding 5 years (23 vs. 18.32 mIU/mL, P < .0001). Significantly more patients with strong estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) expression had PMP durations of less than 5 years compared to those with PMP durations greater than 5 years (103 vs. 61 cases, P = .019; 93 vs. 46 cases, P = .0005). While most patients either lacked (97.1%) or co-expressed (84.3%) ER and PR, some patients expressed either ER or PR alone. ER and PR expression was negatively associated with receptor-tyrosine kinase erbB-2 (HER2) expression in PMP patients with breast cancer. Meanwhile, increased ER and PR expressions were associated with decreased serum levels of LH or follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). 
Conclusion: Decreased serum LH and FSH levels were associated with increased ER and PR expressions and decreased HER2 expression in PMP patients with breast cancer.