# ENDOCRINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN BREAST CANCER

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 1989 · $735,483

## 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 non-protein-bound estradiol), 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 18,000 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.  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 possible to assess additional hypotheses
when new concepts and/or assays are originated; as such it
represents a valuable resource for the future.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3172313
- **Project number:** 5R01CA034588-05
- **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:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $735,483
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1984-07-01 → 1993-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3172313

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3172313, ENDOCRINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN BREAST CANCER (5R01CA034588-05). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3172313. Licensed CC0.

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