ABSTRACT
Urinary bladder cancer is worldwide one of the most diagnosed and costly types of cancer. One puzzle in the bladder cancer diagnosis is the disproportional relationship between genders. Males are more likely to be diagnosed with bladder cancer whereas females typically are diagnosed with more adverse disease and worse prognosis, which has led to speculation of the potential role of sex hormones and their receptors in this disease. Estrogen receptors are present in the human bladder, and their role in bladder cancer oncogenesis is increasingly becoming a focus for researchers around the world. This mini-review aims to give a brief overview of the status of female bladder cancer, and to which extend the sex hormones receptors play a role in this. A literature search was performed and included all female original studies on bladder cancer and hormone receptors. Estrogen-receptor alpha seems to be anti-oncogenic whereas estrogen-receptor beta is exhibiting its function pro-oncogenic. The receptor functions may be exercised through mRNA transcriptions and enzymes. Epidemiological studies indicate a potential increase in incidence of bladder cancer for females with earlier age at menopause, and clinical trials are investigating Tamoxifen as a potential treatment in bladder cancer. Increasing evidence supports the theory of bladder cancer development and progression as being partly hormone-dependent. This can lead to a change in conceptual background of bladder cancer etiology and development in the future. Further studies are required to more precise map the use of anti-hormonal drugs in the treatment of this cancer.
Subject(s)
Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/etiology , Estrogen Antagonists/therapeutic use , Estrogen Receptor alpha/physiology , Glucuronosyltransferase/physiology , Gonadal Steroid Hormones/physiology , Health Status Disparities , Humans , Receptors, Estrogen/physiology , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/drug therapy , ERRalpha Estrogen-Related ReceptorABSTRACT
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is produced by the growing follicles in the ovaries. The number of follicles in this pool is proportional to the number of primordial follicles in the resting pool (the "ovarian reserve"), thus AMH is believed to be a surrogate marker of the ovarian reserve. AMH is a useful adjunct in the evaluation of a woman's "reproductive age", being an important parameter in counselling for reproduction. AMH is also used in pretreatment evaluation of infertile patients guiding proper hormone stimulation. Furthermore, AMH can be used as a tumour marker for granulose cell tumours.
