Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Insulin-Like Growth Factor Linked To Breast Cancer LONDON, ENGLAND -- May 8, 1998 -- Concentrations of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, a peptide hormone made by most tissues of the body, can be measured in the blood. IGF-I is involved in normal growth and may also be important in tumour growth. In this week's issue of The Lancet, Dr. Susan Hankinson of the Channing Laboratory, Boston, MA. and colleagues report that higher concentrations of IGF-I are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal women. In previous studies of the association between IGF-I and breast cancer, blood samples were taken after the diagnosis of breast cancer -- this meant that IGF-I concentrations could have been affected by the disease itself. Hankinson and co-workers had stored blood from enrolled women taken in 1989-90 -- none of whom had breast cancer at the time the blood was taken. Over the next four to five years, the women who were diagnosed with breast cancer were matched to other women in the study who did not. IGF-I and one of its binding proteins were then measured in the stored blood samples. The researchers analysed the IGF-I results by grouping them into categories from low to high values and relating them to the risk of breast cancer. Among the whole study group or among postmenopausal women there was no association between IGF-I concentration and risk of breast cancer. But, among pre-menopausal women, those with IGF-I concentrations in the highest category had over twice the risk of those in the lowest category; among pre-menopausal women younger than 50 years the risk of breast cancer with an IGF-I in the highest category was about four to five times that in the lowest category. Plasma concentrations of IGF-I may be useful in the identification of women at high risk of breast cancer, the researchers said, adding that larger studies with pre-menopausal women are needed to give a better estimate of the risk. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version