Estrogen Metabolism and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Prospective Study

Title: Estrogen Metabolism and Prostate Cancer Risk: A Prospective Study
(referred as PROMEN II study)

Principal Investigator: Paola Muti, MD, MS

Funding Agency: DOD

Period: 05/01/03 - 04/30/06 (grant transferred to the Italian National Cancer Institute 2/05)

Abstract: Paola Muti left the department 2/05, went to the Italian National Cancer Institute and transferred the grant there.

There is about 10-fold difference in mortality from prostate cancer between African American men and men in Hong Kong and Japan. Although both genetic and environmental factors may contribute to explain this large geographic variation in mortality, studies on migrants who moved from countries with low mortality (i.e. Japan) to countries with higher prostate cancer mortality (United States) showed a significant increase in prostate cancer mortality among the population that migrates in comparison with their peers in the countries. This evidence suggests that environmental and lifestyle factors play a dominant role in prostate cancer development. Our aim is to investigate the relation of prediagnostic estrogen metabolism, expressed as ration 2OHE1 to 16-OHE1, and subsequent risk of prostate cancer. Prospectively collected levels of urine 2-hydroxyestrone and 16α-hydroxyestrone will be assessed in incident prostate cancer cases and in control subjects who did not have diagnosis of the disease during the follow-up period.