# ENDOCRINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN BREAST CANCER

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 1987 · $257,947

## Abstract

The principal objective of the study is to determine prospectively the
relationship between breast cancer risk and measures of endocrine function,
viz., serum measurements of estrogens (especially "free" estradiol),
progesterone, prolactin and saliva measurements of progesterone.  This
study will have the advantage over most previous studies in that serum
samples will be obtained before clinical disease is present and that
multiple samples will be obtained.  For premenopausal women serial saliva
progesterones will be obtained over the full luteal phases of multiple
menstrual cycles, to document possible luteal abnormalities.

About 17,500 women between the ages of 35 and 64 from a breast cancer
screening clinic in New York City will be enrolled in the study.  Breast
cancers will be ascertained as completely as possible (including "interval"
cases as well as those detected at screening), and pathology reports will
be obtained to verify the diagnosis.  Brief questionnaires on breast cancer
risk factors and on hypothesized dietary promoters or inhibitors of breast
cancer will also be given to all subjects.  More extensive questionnaires
on these factors will be administered on a case-control basis.

Serum and saliva samples will be frozen and stored so that assays can be
conducted in a case-control format.  Among premenopausal women the blood
samples will be drawn between the 19th and 24th days of the menstrual
cycle, to provide luteal-phase progesterone samples.  The blood- and
saliva-progesterone assays, plus a record on onset of next menses, will
permit interpretation of progesterone status.  The multiple menstrual
cycles assessed will provide a more accurate assessment of endocrine
function than is available in most studies.

It is anticipated that this study will provide the most definitive data
available on the relationships among endocrine function, epidemiologic risk
variables and breast cancer.  It could also provide new leads for targeted
breast-cancer screening or for preventive interventions.  The availability
of frozen serum specimens from a substantial number of breast cancer cases
and controls will also make it possible to assess additional hypothese when
new concepts and/or assays are orginated; as such it represents a valuable
resource for the future.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3172309
- **Project number:** 3R01CA034588-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NX9PXMKW5KW8
- **Principal Investigator:** BERNARD S. PASTERNACK
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $257,947
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1984-07-01 → 1988-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3172309

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3172309, ENDOCRINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN BREAST CANCER (3R01CA034588-03S1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3172309. Licensed CC0.

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