10/14/2024
Breast Cancer Awareness Month-Estrogen Dominance
Many of my patients have worked with me on understanding estrogen dominance and it's role in breast cancer risk. Estrogen dominance is a common hormonal imbalance in women, where there’s an excess of estrogen relative to progesterone. It’s linked to conditions like PCOS, fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and a higher risk of breast cancer. I use specialized hormonal testing to assess estrogen metabolites and guide patients on ways to help them metabolize estrogen more effectively. This information helps me see if their use of hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills is putting them at higher risk.
In medicine, we work hard on early detection however there are better strategies for prevention when we understand this common hormone imbalance.
"To date, many additional risk factors for breast cancer have been identified. Some risk factors are non-modifiable, such as age, BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, family history, reproductive history, and high-dose radiation to the chest. Others are potentially modifiable, such as high endogenous estrogens, hormone therapy, obesity (for postmenopausal breast cancer) and alcohol consumption [2, 3]. There is some controversy regarding whether or not the risk factor of high mammographic density is modifiable [5–9]."
There is currently accumulating evidence that endogenous estrogens play a critical role in the development of breast cancer. Estrogens and their metabolites have been studied in both pre- and postmenopausal women with more consistent results shown in ...
