[Decrease of testosterone level in blood of breast cancer patients of reproductive age after neoadjuvant chemotherapy].

Of examined 37 breast cancer patients (average age 42,3 +/- 1,2 years) 25 had not had any specific therapy by the date of investigation and the rest 12 had received in average 5,3 +/- 0,6 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy mainly TAC and FAC. It was revealed that such kind of treatment conformed to valid decrease of both testosterone level and ratio value [(testosterone concentration/follicle stimulating hormone concentration, FSH) x 100] in blood serum. Testosterone level in blood of patients in fact decreased to similar values both in amenorrhea induced by adjuvant chemotherapy and saving menorrhea. This is a confirmation that maintenance of menorrhea does not mean intactness of ovarian function (ovarian reserve) and indicates that evaluation of testosteronemia in these circumstance at least does not give in estimation of estradiol and FSH's content in blood. Further attention could be paid to study testosteronemia before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a potential additional prognostic factor of efficacy of this treatment for breast cancer patients.

[Familial diabetes frequency as a factor in diabetics suffering from cancer].

Although type 2 diabetes contributes to the risk of development of certain tumors; factors which modify this relationship need to be further examined. Familial diabetes frequency was followed in (a) diabetes-free cancer patients (132), aged 60.3 +/- 1.2; (b) cancer patients with apparent (62.3 +/- 0.4; n=371) or occult type 2 diabetes (61.6 +/- 1.2; n=65) and (c) cancer-free patients with type 2 diabetes (61.8 +/- 0.4; n=237); the latter group (172 females and 65 males) featured almost identical diabetes frequencies: 30.8 +/- 3.5% and 30.8 +/- 5.7%, respectively. They significantly exceeded a relevant index occurring in families free from cancer concomitant with diabetes (6.1 +/- 2.1%). Significantly lower frequencies of familial diabetes were reported in cancer patients as compared with cancer-free patients (12.9 +/- 2.1% females, p < or = 0.01; 19.4 +/- 3.8% - males, p=0.1). To sum up, it cannot be ruled out that familial diabetes is a marker of relative decrease in potential risk of cancer rather than that of increase. The causes of this phenomenon and its possible dependence on gender need to be explored.

[Study of dual ("joker") function of glucose in cancer patients].

A relationship was studied between generation of glucose-induced reactive oxygen species capable of causing damage to DNA (genotoxic or G-effect) and insulin secretion (endocrine or hormonal effect - H-effect) in primary menopausal patients with endomrnetrial carcinoma (EC) (32) or colonic cancer (CC) (16). The study group was compared with healthy menopausal women (25) and patients with an impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (21). Besides, we examined 32 menopausal patients (CC--6 and EC--26) more than 12 months after surgery. The following basic patterns were established: (1) H-effect was reported in EC-1 and 1GT groups nmore often than in healthy peers and those with EC-2: (2) G-effect tended to prevail in CC patients and those with EC-2 and in patients with EC-1 twelve months after operation; (3) G-effect occurred more often in primary EC patients, particularly, those with EC-2 (71%) and IGT (58%) (as compared with CC patients (33%) and healthy females (p < or = 0.001). It is suggested that a comparison of the two effects might provide a criterion for use of relevant means of prevention of certain malignancies or correction of disorders in cancer patients following radical treatment.

[Effect of previous diabetes therapy on tumor receptor phenotype in breast cancer: comparison of metformin and sulphonylurea derivatives].

According to some existing data, unlike sulphonylurea (SU) and insulin derivatives, treatment with biguanide metformin, for reasons still unknown, may diminish breast cancer (BC) morbidity in diabetic females. For its part, diabetes is known to worsen survival of BC patients although there is no evidence of a pathway by which antidiabetic therapy might influence the key prognostic feature of BC tissue--the tumor receptor phenotype. Combination of BC and diabetes (n=90) was studied. SU drugs were received for at least 12 months by 22 patients, biguanide metformin alone or in conjunction with SU by 15, insulin by 5, and dietary treatment alone--by 48 pts. Percentage of estrogen receptor-positive tumors did not vary significantly from group to group. However, progesterone receptor-positive (PR+) tumors in metformin-treated patients were revealed more often than in those receiving SU alone (p = 0.43) or with insulin (p = 0.041), respectively. Hence, previous treatment with metformin is expected lead to higher incidence of PR+ tumors which in turn may stimulate efficiency of hormonal therapy only in relevant group of diabetic BC patients.