Early pregnancy sex steroids during primiparous pregnancies and maternal breast cancer: a nested case–control study in the Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort

• Main Authors: Renée T. Fortner, Eglé Tolockiene, Helena Schock, Husam Oda, Hans-Åke Lakso, Göran Hallmans, Rudolf Kaaks, Paolo Toniolo, Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Kjell Grankvist, Eva Lundin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2017-07-01
• Series: Breast Cancer Research
• Subjects: Endogenous hormones; Early pregnancy; Breast cancer; Sex steroids
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13058-017-0876-8

Abstract Background Pregnancy and parity are associated with subsequent breast cancer risk. Experimental and epidemiologic data suggest a role for pregnancy sex steroid hormones. Methods We conducted a nested case–control study in the Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort (1975–2007). Eligible women had provided a blood sample in the first 20 weeks of gestation during a primiparous pregnancy leading to a term delivery. The current study includes 223 cases and 417 matched controls (matching factors: age at and date of blood collection). Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status was available for all cases; androgen receptor (AR) data were available for 41% of cases (n = 92). Sex steroids were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Results Higher concentrations of circulating progesterone in early pregnancy were inversely associated with ER+/PR+ breast cancer risk (ORlog2: 0.64 (0.41–1.00)). Higher testosterone was positively associated with ER+/PR+ disease risk (ORlog2: 1.57 (1.13–2.18)). Early pregnancy estrogens were not associated with risk, except for relatively high estradiol in the context of low progesterone (split at median, relative to low concentrations of both; OR: 1.87 (1.11–3.16)). None of the investigated hormones were associated with ER–/PR– disease, or with AR+ or AR+/ER+/PR+ disease. Conclusions Consistent with experimental models, high progesterone in early pregnancy was associated with lower risk of ER+/PR+ breast cancer in the mother. High circulating testosterone in early pregnancy, which likely reflects nonpregnant premenopausal exposure, was associated with higher risk of ER+/PR+ disease.