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DG DISPATCH - AAO: Estrogen Levels Linked To Head And Neck Cancers By Andrew Bowser Special to DG News NEW ORLEANS, LA -- September 28, 1999 -- Head and neck cancer is increasingly more common among women, suggesting that differences in the way women metabolize estrogen may be putting them at increased risk for developing the disease. In a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAO), Dr. Helen Jung-Sook Koo, of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, revealed new data indicating that head and neck cancer patients are more likely to express abnormal estrogen metabolism compared with healthy controls. The findings came from a study of urinary levels of estrogen metabolites 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone (16-alpha-OHE1) and 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1). The researchers found a low ratio of 2-OHE1 (which demonstrates an anti-proliferative effects on estrogen metabolism) to 16-alpha-OHE1 (which demonstrates proliferative effects) in 30 percent of the 50 head and neck cancer patients compared to only 4 percent of 50 age- and sex-matched controls. Previously, estrogen metabolites have been associated with the pathogenesis of breast and cervical cancer, but this is the first study to demonstrate a link in cancers of sites including the upper aerodigestive tract. The findings didn’t correlate with sex of the patients in the study group and control group, which contained 40 men and 10 women each. In an interview with Doctor’s Guide, Dr. Koo said the findings suggest 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone and 2-hydroxyestrone may serve as biological markers of increased risk for head and neck cancer. Should these findings be replicated in a larger study underway now, researchers may study the effects of pharmacologic intervention to alter estrogen metabolic pathways. Similar effects could be exerted by vegetables including broccoli and cauliflower, which contain the phytochemical compound indole-3-carbinol. "It’s a little too early to make specific recommendations, but it’s not unethical to suggest to your patients that they eat vegetables," Dr. Yoo said. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version