Study was undertaken in China due to alarming increase in breast cancer in Chinese women. This meta-analysis of 36 articles found a 44% increase in breast cancer with one abortion. This increased to 76% at 2 and 89% at 3 abortions respectively.
This study is very important and previous criticisms of prior studies linking abortion to breast cancer has been reporting bias. In China, due to the one child policy, abortion is a way of life and there is no cultural shame involved.
ER-β is predominately immunolocalized in basal cells and to a lesser extent in stromal cells of the morphologically normal human prostate
ER-α is detected in stromal cells and rarely in basal cells of the normal gland
AR was predominately localized in the nuclei of differentiated secretory cells and variably in basal cells of the normal acinar/duct unit as well as in stromal cells
Hall and colleagues44 have reported that ER-β functions as a transdominant inhibitor of ER-α transcription and that it acts to decrease overall cellular sensitivity to estradiol
proliferative signals mediated by AR in basal cells or by ER-α and AR in stromal cells may be opposed by the purported growth-inhibitory action of ER-β25, 26, 27, 28 localized in basal cells.
The transition from normal to low/moderate dysplastic glands in the peripheral zone was marked by the appearance of ER-β homogeneously immunostained nuclei in secretory as well as basal cells with no changes in the localization of the other receptors.
The expression of ER-β was diminished in high-grade dysplasias when compared to normal glands and lower grade lesions.
The diminution of ER-β expression in high-grade dysplasias and grade 4/5 cancers may be therefore related to the alteration of DNA methylation pattern in CpG islands of the promoter, resulting in down-regulation of the receptor at the transcriptional level
based on the proposed anti-proliferative function of the receptor,25, 26, 27, 28 the presence of ER-β in secretory cells of low/moderate-grade lesions may represent a transient abortive attempt to counter growth of these cells
the attrition of receptor-positive basal cells in the high-grade dysplasias may signify a continuing loss of growth inhibitory function mediated by ER-β in these precursor lesions
Our findings in prostate therefore differ from those reported for human colon cancer in which Folley and colleagues48 demonstrated that a selective loss of ER-β protein but not receptor message expression occurs in these neoplasms
Our findings therefore differed from those of Bonkhoff and colleagues33 who found immunostaining for the receptor in high-grade dysplasias and grade 4/5 carcinomas. Using in situ hybridization these authors also reported that a high percentage of dysplasias and carcinomas in their study contained cells that expressed ER-α message
Very nice study. The authors looked at normal prostate, early disease and late stage prostate cancer. The authors found that ER beta expression, as a general rule, was lost as progression occurred to the high-grade dysplasias and grad 4/5 carcinomas of the prostate. Early low/moderate dysplasia was associated with an increase in ER beta--the authors propose that this was due to an attempt of the basal epithelium to counter the paracrine effect of ER alpha.
In contrast, androgen receptors appeared to be equally expressed across all.