Hormonally dependent tumors. Estrogen Dependent Tumors: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment What are Estrogen Dependent Tumors

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Lignans- a group of biologically active compounds that are present in plants. They belong to the class of natural phytoestrogens.
They are found in large quantities in flax and sesame seeds, and in much lower concentrations in seeds of other plants, vegetables and fruits.
The husk of flax seeds is the richest source of lignans in the plant kingdom (800 µg/g). Lignans are compounds that form the building blocks of plant cell walls. At the same time, flax seed oil does not contain lignans.

How do lignans work in the body?

When you eat foods that contain lignans, bacteria in your gut convert them into metabolites (enterodiol and enterolactone) that circulate in your blood. Lignans and their biotransformation products in the human body - enterodiol (END) and enterolactone (ENL) are structurally similar to estradiol, which gives them estrogenic or antiestrogenic properties.
Lignans are phytoestrogens that help regulate estrogen levels in the body. When endogenous estrogen levels are too high, lignans act as antagonists of their own estrogens. In this case, lignans bind to estrogen receptors, blocking excess endogenous estrogen. When estrogen levels are low, enterolactone (lignan metabolite) provides estrogen support, i.e. acts as an agonist. Although lignans mimic estrogen and bind to its receptors, they do not have the same estrogen antagonistic effects.
Hormonal regulation also depends on the concentration of phytoestrogens: the higher it is, the more pronounced the antiestrogenic effect.
Studies have shown that lignan phytoestrogens reduce the risk of developing hormone-dependent tumors (cancer of the breast and prostate, colon, uterus, as well as endometriosis and mastopathy) by blocking estrogenic activity.
The ability of phytoestrogens to stimulate the formation of sex hormone-binding globulins (SHBG) in the liver has been revealed. The more estrogen is bound by globulins, the less its activity.
Lignans provide high antioxidant protection. Their action as antioxidants is more powerful than that of vitamin E. Such protection resists free radical attacks, which may be responsible for some types of cancer.
Lignans have been found to block the aromatase enzyme, which promotes the conversion of testosterone to estrogen.
Lignans provide cardiovascular support, reduce blood lipid oxidation, lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, have a cardioprotective effect, reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, offering antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection.
Lignans reduce blood levels of highly sensitive C-reactive protein (a biomarker for vascular endothelial inflammation and atherosclerosis).
Support healthy glucose metabolism
Maintain a healthy body weight.
Reduce hair loss and speed up hair restoration. Hair loss can be caused by the action of the hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Flaxseed lignans inhibit the production of an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT.
Lignans are sources of dietary fiber, and therefore fiber-rich foods
Lignans inhibit the enzyme 11-HSD (11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase), which converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol. Thus, the negative impact on the body of the stress hormone cortisol is reduced.

How do lignans affect tumor growth?

1. Reduce the proliferation (growth) of tumor cells.
2. Block the blood supply to the tumor, reducing the production of the growth factor necessary to stimulate angiogenesis.
3. Reduce estrogen levels by blocking aromatase.
4. Block estrogen receptors.
5. Reduce the risk of metastasis.
6. Stimulate apoptosis (death) of cancer cells.

When is lignans indicated?

Hormone-dependent diseases and conditions:
Mastopathy
endometriosis
BPH
Cancer of the uterus, ovaries, breast, colon, prostate
Climax. Lignans are a safe and natural alternative (as opposed to synthetic hormone therapy) to compensate for hormonal fluctuations during menopause. A recently completed US clinical study showed that taking 50 mg of lignans per day for 4 weeks reduced hot flashes and night sweats by 53%.
Osteoporosis
Cardiovascular pathology
Hyperlipidemia

How much lignans should be consumed to maintain good health?
Most of us do not eat enough unrefined grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes to provide the body with plant lignans. The average consumption of lignans in the US is approximately 1 mg per day. But researchers say we should consume at least 50 to 100 milligrams of lignans a day.

What interferes with the absorption of lignans?
Dysbacteriosis, which lacks beneficial gut bacteria needed to convert plant lignans into metabolites that the body can use.
A food allergy that interferes with the conversion and assimilation process.
Inflammatory bowel disease.
High fat content in food.

Why have lignans gained so much attention in recent years?
Currently, the world is experiencing a significant increase in the number of hormone-dependent (estrogen-dependent) tumors and other diseases, which has already acquired the character of an epidemic.
In this regard, natural means of combating these ailments have acquired particular relevance, because. chemical drugs have a lot of undesirable side effects.
These natural remedies include phytoestrogens - substances of plant origin, the chemical structure of which is similar to estrogens. Because of this similarity, they can bind to estrogen receptors and mimic some of the effects of estrogen. But they can also block these receptors, thereby reducing their exposure to the body's more powerful own estrogens.

Until recently, most research on phytoestrogens has focused on soy isoflavones. The ability to study lignans was limited due to the complexity of their isolation from plants. But the emergence of new methods for extracting lignans has allowed them to be studied in more depth.

As a result of experimental studies, as well as clinical observations, scientific evidence has emerged that flax seed lignans can reduce the risk of developing hormone-dependent tumors.

Note! When talking about the antitumor effect of flax seeds, we are talking exclusively about the action of specific chemical components - lignans, isolated and studied in pure form, but this effect is not entirely correct to attribute to a whole food product, because. it is not standardized for the number of lignans.

Nervous system and tumor development

1. In dogs with experimental neurosis, the percentage of spontaneously occurring tumors is significantly higher. They are easier to cause chemical carcinogenesis. Administration of CNS depressant drugs to experimental animals facilitates, and excitatory agents hinder transplantation and tumor induction. Grafting and induction of tumors is much easier to achieve in animals with a weak type of GNI than in animals with a strong mobile GNI.

2. Localization of tumor foci can be determined by a violation of the innervation of the organ: tumor nodes develop after the introduction of tumor cells into the rabbit's blood against the background of denervation of the spleen - in the spleen; after denervation of the kidney - in the kidney; after denervation of the stomach - in the stomach.

3. Chronic stressful situations, prolonged depression are factors that increase the risk of developing cancer, all other things being equal.

4. A developing tumor also affects the neurological status of the body: at first, excitation predominates in the patient, then depression increases at the final stage of the disease.

Endocrine system and tumor development

By degree of participation: disharmonious tumors, in the origin of which a violation of the hormonal background of the body plays a decisive role, and tumors of non-endocrine origin, in the occurrence and development of which violations of the hormonal background of the body play an additional role.

1. Disharmonious: tumors of the breast, uterus, prostate. The leading role in the development of tumors of the breast, uterus belongs to hyperestrogenization of the body. The basis of the carcinogenic action of estrogens is their physiological ability to stimulate the proliferation process in these organs. The follicle-stimulating hormone of the pituitary gland has the same effect. It not only stimulates the process of estrogen production, but also activates the proliferation processes in the uterus and mammary glands.

2. Prescribing thyroid hormones to cancer patients in the postoperative period contributes to a more favorable outcome of treatment. Thyroid hormones, like estrogens, enhance cell proliferation, but, unlike the latter, they promote cell differentiation and increase the nonspecific resistance of the body, its defenses.

3. Long-term stimulation of cell proliferation, which develops according to the feedback principle in one or another endocrine gland with a decrease in its function, sometimes contributes to the development of tumor growth in the endocrine glands themselves, both in the hyperplastic peripheral gland and in the pituitary gland.

4. With tumors of the endocrine glands, both inhibition and activation of the process of hormone production, as well as ectopic synthesis, are possible. For example, a cancerous tumor of the thyroid gland often synthesizes pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), chorionepithelioma - thyroid-stimulating hormone and pituitary antidiuretic hormone (TSH and ADH). Tumors originating from the islet apparatus of the pancreas can synthesize up to 7 different hormones. Such phenomena are called paraneoendocrine syndrome (one of the varieties of paraneoplastic syndrome).

Treatment of benign hormone-dependent tumors

Hypothalamic-pituitary-inducing methods (normalization of the estrogen-progesterone ratio): endonasal galvanization, iodine and zinc electrophoresis, galvanization of the cervico-facial region, electrical stimulation of the cervix.

Reparative-regenerative methods: infrared laser therapy, radon, hydrogen sulfide baths, iodine-bromine baths.
In the pathogenesis of benign hormone-dependent tumors of the reproductive system and hyperplastic processes in the endometrium, a violation of the estrogen-progesterone ratio plays a significant role. The use of therapeutic physical factors in these diseases requires constant oncological vigilance. With benign hormone-dependent tumors of the reproductive system - uterine myoma, genital endometriosis and mastopathy, physical factors can be used only if there is no suspicion of malignant degeneration of the tumor and only in cases where it does not require surgical treatment.
To eliminate the gynecological and estragenital diseases associated with these tumors and those localized near the genital organs, only such physical factors can be used that do not create significant hyperemia in the pelvic organs with difficult blood outflow and do not increase the initial violation of the estrogen-progesterone ratio.

Physical factors that contribute to the elimination of the initial violation of the estrogen-progesterone ratio can be effectively used to prevent the progression of benign hormone-dependent tumors. For this purpose, with uterine fibroids that have arisen against the background of prolonged endocrine disorders, iodine-bromine baths or endonasal galvanization are used, followed by courses of electrical stimulation of the cervix. With uterine myoma, the occurrence of which was preceded by chronic inflammatory diseases of the genital organs and intrauterine interventions, radon baths (not lower than 40 nCi / l) or electrophoresis of iodine, iodine and zinc are prescribed. To prevent the growth of endometrioid heterotopias, it is advisable to use radon baths or electrophoresis of iodine and zinc. You can prevent the progression of mastopathy with iodine-bromine baths or iodine electrophoresis.

In recent years, physical factors have been used in the complex treatment of benign hormone-dependent tumors. It has been experimentally and clinically proven that the use of zinc electrophoresis increases the effectiveness of non-surgical treatment of uterine fibroids in cases where the tumor has developed in women aged 35-50 years, the nodes are located intramuscularly or subperitoneally on a wide base, the size of the organ does not exceed its size at 15 weeks pregnancy. Hydro- and balneotherapy is successfully used for the treatment of uterine fibroids with baths - pearl (vegetovascular disorders, chronic hypoxia due to iron deficiency anemia), radon (chronic endometritis and sulpingoophoritis lasting up to 5 years), iodine-bromine (the same inflammatory processes lasting more than 5 years). The clinical effectiveness of the treatment of endometriosis increases with the inclusion of iodine electrophoresis in the therapeutic complex, and with the localization of the process in the retrocervical region, electrophoresis of iodine and amidopyrine or zinc.

Since surgical treatment of benign hormone-dependent tumors of the reproductive system does not eliminate background endocrine disorders, after appropriate surgical interventions, rehabilitation of patients is necessary, aimed, in particular, at normalizing the estrogen-progesterone ratio. After conservative myomectomy, supravaginal amputation or extirpation of the myomatous uterus, rehabilitation is carried out using the same physical factors that are used to prevent the growth of fibroids. Rehabilitation by physical factors of patients operated on for endometriosis is carried out in two stages.
First, electrophoresis of iodine and zinc is applied with sinusoidal modulated or fluctuating currents, followed by exposure to ultrasound in a pulsed mode. At the second stage, physiotherapy is carried out in accordance with the localization of endometrioid heterotopia. When localizing endometriosis in the retrocervical region, galvanization of the cervical-facial region is performed, followed by endonasal galvanization. This normalizes the tone of the central regulatory mechanisms and the functional state of peripheral effects. With ovarian endometriosis, endonasal galvanization corrects the disturbed ratios of gonadotropic hormones of the pituitary gland. Rehabilitation of patients operated on for endometriosis of the uterine body (adenomyosis) is carried out by galvanization of the cervico-facial region, followed by electrical stimulation of the cervix. This increases basal and cyclic secretion of luteinizing hormone.
With adenomatosis and endometrial polyposis, treatment with physical factors of concomitant gynecological diseases is contraindicated. These processes are also a contraindication to referral of patients to sanatorium-and-spa treatment. Gynecological and extragenital diseases in women who previously had a benign hyperplastic process in the endometrium are treated with physical factors only if all the conditions required for physiotherapy for benign hormone-dependent tumors of the reproductive system are met, including determining the initial hormonal function of the ovaries.

To date, doctors have not been able to establish the exact cause that affects the development of cancer in the human body. However, it was still possible to identify some prerequisites that contribute to the development of such dangerous pathological processes. There are a large number of cancers that attack the human body, and estrogen-dependent tumors are no exception.

In this article, we will look at the main causes of the development of such ailments, as well as learn how to diagnose them and how to properly treat them. It is also very important to familiarize yourself with the consequences that may occur against the background of estrogen-dependent tumors. Read this information carefully in order to protect and arm yourself as much as possible.

What is this pathology

Estrogen-dependent tumors are benign formations consisting of muscle cells. One such cell begins to multiply actively, which leads to a huge accumulation of other cells that can form nodules in the uterus or mammary glands. Such nodules are called myomas.

Causes of the occurrence and mammary glands

There are no exact reasons why estrogen-dependent tumors of the uterus and mammary glands occur. Scientists are inclined to believe that such pathologies occur with excessive production of the female hormones estrogen.

However, there are other factors that can provoke the development of uterine fibroids:

Hormonal imbalance. This should include not only the improper functioning of female sex hormones, but also the activity of the thyroid gland and adrenal glands.
The emotional state of a woman. Frequent stress causes the development of estrogen-dependent tumors. Uterine fibroids can also attack the fair sex, prone to obesity. After all, a metabolic disorder entails general hormonal disruptions in the body.
Heredity. It plays an important role in such a dangerous process for health. Those representatives of the weaker sex who had relatives with fibroids in their family will be more prone to the development of such a pathology.
Abortion or the inability of a woman to have a child and breastfeed him.
The presence of various inflammatory processes in the female genital organs.
Injury to the mammary glands.
Wearing uncomfortable and tight underwear.
Chronic processes occurring in the mammary glands.

All these reasons contribute to the occurrence of estrogen-dependent tumors in women. What it is, it is recommended that every lady know in order to stay healthy for many years.

Symptoms of tumor formation in the breast area

In the presence of a hormone-dependent tumor, a woman usually endures very painful periods. However, these are not all symptoms of pathology. When palpating the chest, it is possible to detect seals in it ranging in size from several millimeters to several centimeters. Sometimes one small seal is felt in the gland, sometimes several at once. At the same time, when pressing on them, the patient will not feel pain, so it is not always possible to identify a life-threatening pathology at home.

Signs of uterine fibroids

Estrogen-dependent tumors are benign tumors that can become malignant over time. Therefore, every woman should carefully monitor her own health.

The fact that a fibroid has appeared in the uterus may be indicated by such signs as:

Prolonged and painful menstruation, accompanied by excessive bleeding. In this case, spotting and pain can also occur in the middle of the cycle. It can hurt not only the lower abdomen, but also the back and legs. Sometimes discomfort is felt during intercourse.
If the fibroid began to rapidly increase in size, then this can lead to frequent urination, as the pathogenic cells have grown so much that they began to squeeze the bladder. Sometimes education also leads to the development of constipation, especially if it grows towards the rectum. Thus, the tumor begins to compress the organ, and this causes difficulty when going to the toilet.
Other symptoms may also develop. In patients, all organs may begin to hurt in the presence of estrogen-dependent tumors. The list of such diseases is not very large. Most often, these include pathologies of the uterus and mammary glands.

Diagnostic examinations of the breast

If you notice even the slightest change in your mammary glands, go to the hospital immediately! The first thing the doctor will do is conduct a visual examination, and also probe the chest for tumors. In fact, with tactile diagnostics, it is very difficult to distinguish fibroids from any other tumor. Therefore, other types of surveys will have to be carried out, such as:

Mammography. Most often, this procedure is prescribed for mature women.
ultrasound examination, allowing to determine the blood flow in the formed nodes.
Biopsy. When conducting this study, the doctor will take a small piece of deformed tissue and send it for histological examination. Only after receiving the results will it be possible to accurately determine the type of disease and prescribe the most appropriate treatment.

Features of the diagnosis of uterine fibroids

What are estrogen-dependent tumors, we have already considered. Now it’s worth understanding how to distinguish such a pathology from any other. First of all, you will have to go for a consultation and examination by a gynecologist, and after that the doctor will refer you for further diagnostics.

After the initial examination, the gynecologist sends the patient to an ultrasound, which is carried out by two methods. It is very important to analyze the condition of the abdominal cavity. A special device is also introduced into the vagina, which allows to determine the pathology of the internal cavity.

Another diagnostic method is hysteroscopy. In this case, a special device will be inserted into the uterine cavity, with which you can see everything that happens inside the organ.

Treatment with conservative methods

Estrogen-dependent and uterus are often treated with conservative therapy. In this case, doctors prescribe hormonal drugs to their patients that reduce the production of the hormone estrogen by the female body. Such drugs can cause a condition very similar to menopause. In this case, significant bleeding stops in the patient, and the fibroid itself gradually decreases in size. After stopping the use of this medication, the menstrual cycle in the fairer sex is usually restored.

It is also very important to take medicines that will stop the growth of fibroids. Every woman should come to a medical facility every few months for appropriate tests.

Surgery

The list of estrogen-dependent tumors in women is not so extensive, but it includes very dangerous diseases that, if ignored, can turn into malignant tumors. Quite often, doctors recommend that their patients remove fibroids with the help of surgery. Thus, the risk that the disease will occur again will be minimal.

Most often, estrogen-dependent tumors are removed in cases where there is a suspicion of the development of malignant tumors. Sometimes these are damaged tissues, and sometimes the breast or uterus is completely removed. According to doctors, if a patient has found breast fibroids, then quite often she later learns about the developed pathology in the female genital organs.

Preventive measures

Of course, any disease is much easier to prevent than to treat. It is very important to try to avoid factors that can lead to the occurrence of malignant tumors. What do doctors advise their patients for prevention:

protect your chest from injury, and also do not wear too tight and uncomfortable underwear;
timely treat any diseases associated with the activity of the hormonal system;
prevent the development of inflammatory processes in the genital organs. To do this, it is recommended to wear warm natural underwear, as well as to have sex only with a trusted partner;

And, of course, do not forget about the right lifestyle. You need to exercise and eat right. All kinds of bad habits should be eradicated. Doctors strongly recommend getting rid of a stressful state, since a large amount of stress can lead to cancer;
it is desirable to refuse hormonal contraceptives. All hormonal pills should be taken only when absolutely necessary, on the advice of your healthcare provider.

conclusions

Estrogen-dependent tumors can bring a lot of trouble to a woman. Therefore, the fair sex should start taking care of their health today. Take care of yourself, and then your body will start taking care of you!

In recent years, there has been an explosion of new methods in the treatment of breast cancer, which has brought great hopes for good prognosis. If earlier oncology had only a couple of treatment methods in its arsenal, today there is a fairly large selection of such methods. These include various new and improved surgical techniques, new chemotherapy drugs, new hormonal treatments, new radiation therapy and immune therapy.

Hormonal (antiestrogen) therapy is a very effective treatment for hormone-positive (or hormone-dependent) breast tumors.

Hormone therapy is fundamentally different from hormone replacement therapy for menopause in some women. In addition, hormone replacement therapy for breast cancer can be very unsafe.

Hormone therapy is a very effective treatment for hormone-positive breast tumors.

The goal of hormone therapy is to kill cancer cells after primary surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.

Hormone therapy, in its principle, is similar to "insurance" after other methods of treatment: surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence. After the cancer treatment, the patient hopes that the tumor is completely destroyed. However, no one can give such a 100% guarantee. Therefore, the appointment of hormone therapy, as it were, insures a woman against a recurrence of cancer.

For some patients with hormone-positive breast cancer, hormone therapy is as important as other treatments. In fact, hormone therapy may even be more effective than chemotherapy. Depending on the specific situation, hormone therapy may be prescribed alone or in combination with chemotherapy.

The effect of various methods of hormone therapy is aimed at achieving one goal - reducing the effect of estrogens on a cancerous tumor. The mechanism of hormonal therapy is thus aimed at blocking the effect of estrogen on the tumor.

Hormone therapy can be aimed at blocking estrogen receptors, destroying them, or reducing the amount of estrogen in the blood. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.

What is the role of hormones in the treatment of breast cancer?

Hormone receptors on the surface of a cancer cell are like its ears or antennae, picking up signals in the form of hormone molecules. Estrogens, connecting with these receptors, as if instruct the tumor cells to grow and multiply.

After the tumor is removed, it is examined for hormone receptors. If these receptors are found on the surface of cancer cells, there is a chance that hormone therapy will be effective. And the greater the number of receptors, the more effective hormone therapy will be. If at the same time a large number of both estrogen and progesterone receptors are noted, then the effectiveness of hormone therapy will be much more effective.

Another name for hormone therapy is antiestrogen therapy. this is because the main goal of hormone therapy is to suppress the effects of estrogen on the cancer cell.

How common are hormone receptors on the surface of breast cancer cells?

About 75% of all breast cancers are hormone-positive in terms of estrogen receptors (ERC-positive).
About 65% of these hormone-positive tumors also have progesterone receptors (P-positive) on their surface.
About 25% of all breast cancers are hormonally negative in terms of both estrogen and progesterone, or with unknown hormonal status.
About 10% of all breast cancers are hormone-positive for estrogen receptors and negative for progesterone receptors.
About 5% of all breast cancers are hormone-negative for estrogen receptors and positive for progesterone receptors.

In this context, “positive” means that there are a significant number of receptors on the cell surface, and “negative” means that the number of these receptors is not so significant.

In some cases, the laboratory may give an answer such as "the hormonal status of the tumor is unknown." This could mean one of the following:

Hormonal status test was not performed,
The tumor sample received by the lab was too small to give an accurate result,
Few estrogen and progesterone receptors were found.

In such cases, when hormone receptors are not detected, or they cannot be counted, and the laboratory gives the answer “hormonal status is unknown”, the tumor is called hormone-negative.

How do hormones work?

Estrogen and progesterone - female sex hormones - are in the blood and circulating throughout the body, affect both healthy cells and tumor cells. In this case, the hormone affects certain organs and tissues with the help of receptors. Receptors are high molecular weight compounds. They are either on the surface of the cell or outside or inside. Their action can be compared with the switches of certain cell functions. hormone molecules act on these receptors by connecting with them, like a key entering a keyhole. Thus, each hormone has its own receptors on the surface of those cells on which this hormone should have an effect. That is, for example, the hormone progesterone will not have any effect on cells where there are no its receptors, but there are, for example, estrogen receptors.

As you have seen above, the majority (75%) of breast cancers are hormone-dependent, that is, estrogen and progesterone have a stimulating effect on these tumors. Without these hormones, these tumors cannot grow. They decrease in size and gradually die.

Estrogen and progesterone themselves also play an important role in the formation of certain types of breast cancer:

Estrogen is a very important factor for estrogen receptor cells in many body tissues and some breast tumors.
Progesterone may also be a factor contributing to cancer.

In cases where cancer cells have few estrogen receptors on their surface (as we have already said, these are hormone-negative tumors), hormone therapy does not give any effect. However, if there are progesterone receptors on the tumor cells, then hormone therapy in this case can be effective. It should be emphasized that in the case when cancer cells have progesterone receptors, but do not have estrogen receptors, the chance that hormone therapy will be effective is 10%.

What is the effect of hormone therapy in your case?

If a biopsy of a tumor or a sample taken after surgery reveals that the tumor is hormone-dependent, then it is quite possible that the effect of hormone therapy will be very good:

If both estrogen and progesterone receptors are present on cancer cells, the effectiveness of hormone therapy will be 70%.
If there is only one type of receptor on the surface of cancer cells (that is, an Erc+/Pr- or Erc-/Pr+ tumor), the chance of hormone therapy being effective is 33%.
When the hormonal status of a tumor is unknown, there is only a 10% chance that hormonal therapy will be effective.

Estrogen plays an important role in a woman's body. In addition to regulating the menstrual cycle and influencing the development of secondary sexual characteristics, it also affects the structure of bone tissue. But, nevertheless, the chance to recover from breast cancer is vitally more important than bone tissue.

It should be noted that some studies that have been conducted among older women with high bone density have revealed a high risk of developing breast cancer. This led to the opinion among patients that the thicker and stronger the bones, the higher the risk of breast cancer. a relatively high level of estrogen in the body has all three effects: increases bone density, makes them strong, and increases the risk of breast cancer.