Estrogen and the Risk of Breast Cancer

Abstract

The connection between breast cancer and estrogen has been recognized for more than 100 years, since George Beatson demonstrated that bilateral oophorectomy resulted in the remission of breast cancer in premenopausal women.¹ Subsequent evidence has implicated both endogenous and exogenous estrogen in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. In this article, we review the relation between estrogen and the risk of breast cancer.Estrogen and Breast CarcinogenesisExperimental data strongly suggest that estrogens have a role in the development and growth of breast cancer.² Although the exact mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated, the alkylation of cellular molecules and the generation . . .