Diabetes and endometrial cancer: an Italian case-control study.

We considered the association between diabetes and risk of endometrial cancer using data from a large case-control study conducted in Italy. Cases were 752 women with incident, histologically confirmed endometrial cancer < 75 years of age (median age 60 years, range 28-74) admitted to a network of hospitals in Milan. Controls were 2,606 patients (median age 54 years, range 25-74) aged < 75 years, admitted for acute non-neoplastic, non-gynecological, non-hormone-related conditions to the same network of hospitals where cases had been identified. A total of 132 (17.6%) cases and 116 controls (4.5%) reported a history of diabetes. The corresponding multivariate odds ratio (OR) was 2.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2-3.9]. No association emerged with diabetes diagnosed under age 40 (likely to be insulin-dependent diabetes), whereas the OR of endometrial cancer was 3.1 (95% CI 2.3-4.2) for diabetes diagnosed at age > or = 40 years. The OR of endometrial cancer in women with history of diabetes was 3.0 for women with a body mass index (BMI) (QI) kg/m2 < 25, 3.6 for those with a BMI of 25-29, and 3.3 for those with a BMI > or = 30. No consistent interaction or modifying effect was observed for any other covariate. Our results confirm that non-insulin-dependent diabetes is associated with the risk of endometrial cancer. The association may be mediated through elevated oestrogen levels in diabetic women, hyperinsulinemia or insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I).

Correlation between estrogen receptor levels and clinical response to ovariectomy in premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer.

From 1974 to 1980, according to a controlled clinical trial, 66 premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer underwent bilateral ovariectomy (BO). Of the hormonal parameters evaluated, the present study deals with estrogen receptors (ER). The relation between the presence or the absence of ER and clinical response was evaluated, without considering their concentration in neoplastic tissue. The response was evaluated in relation to threshold values of 5 fmol/mg protein (considered at the time of the study the cut-off value of negativity and positivity) and 10 fmol/mg protein (recently found to be a more accurate cut-off value). The results of BO in relation to different receptor status showed an analogous response. Furthermore, the higher the receptor concentration, the better the response to BO, especially when the concentration was higher than 25 fmol/mg protein.