hormone estrogen

Using a breakthrough technology, researchers led by a Weill Cornell Medical College scientist have pinpointed the hormone estrogen as a key player in about half of all prostate cancers.

A tiny modification called methylation on estrogen receptors prolongs the life of these growth-driving molecules in breast cancer cells.

Most breast cancers contain estrogen receptors, which enable them to grow in the presence of the hormone estrogen.

Their presence can determine whether tumors will respond to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen. The finding will help researchers sort out how mutations change the estrogen receptor's function and allow some breast cancers to resist tamoxifen.

High blood levels of vitamin D protect post-menopausal women from breast cancer. This connection has been confirmed by research of the German Cancer Research Center.

It also shows that a particular gene variant of the vitamin D receptor is associated with an elevated breast cancer risk if the tumor has receptors for the female sex hormone estrogen.