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What Are Estrogen Receptors? We hear the term "estrogen receptors" quite often these days with regard to breast and certain other cancers. But what exactly are estrogen receptors and what role do they play in breast cancer? Let's take a closer look. Estrogen is a naturally occurring female reproductive hormone. Before the body can use estrogen, it must bind to proteins called estrogen receptors. Picture it this way: your body produces the estrogen (or perhaps you take it in hormone replacement drugs) and it marches up to a door. That door would be locked and entry barred without the estrogen receptors. They act like locks, matching up with the estrogen "key" to unlock the door and allow the estrogen to function in your body. One of the risk factors for breast cancer is believed to be excess exposure to estrogen. That's why women who have short menstrual cycles, haven't had children, started menstruating early or go through menopause late are considered at higher risk of breast cancer. Those factors increase lifelong exposure to estrogen, which seems to encourage breast cancer cells to multiply. Estrogen Receptors and Tamoxifen Experts believe estrogen receptors in the breast may be related to cancer in at least two ways. First, in treatment. The breast cancer drug tamoxifen is a hormonal therapy that seems to interfere with the lock and key process and helps keep estrogen from promoting growth of breast cancer cells. Other "designer estrogens" such as tamoxifen are being studied for their ability to fight breast cancer, prevent recurrence, and possibly prevent the disease altogether. In women whose breast cancer cells are "estrogen receptor negative" - meaning they don't contain estrogen receptors - hormonal treatments don't work. Plant Estrogens There's yet another fascinating area of study having to do with breast cancer prevention. Certain plant foods, especially soy, contain substances known as phytoestrogens. Some of these phytoestrogens (one kind in particular, called isoflavones) may be linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer. (See Soy to Prevent Breast Cancer? Phytoestrogens bind to the estrogen receptors. But when they do, they act like weak estrogens, that is, they don't stimulate cancer cells to reproduce. When the phytoestrogens bind to the receptors, the full-strength estrogen is prevented from doing so. This reduces exposure to estrogen and presumably should reduce a woman's risk of getting breast cancer. Nothing's proven yet, and research on estrogen receptors has a long way to go. But it's an exciting field of study that has the potential to vastly increase our ability to prevent and treat breast and other cancers. by Nancy Snyderman, M.D., F.A.C.S. Published: November, 1998 Reviewed: November, 1998 |
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