This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zipprich, J. Articles by Santella, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zipprich, J. Articles by Santella, R. M.

Plasma Protein Carbonyls and Breast Cancer Risk in Sisters Discordant for Breast Cancer from the New York Site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry

¹ Departments of Environmental Health Sciences, and ² Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York

Requests for reprints: Regina M. Santella, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, P & S 19-418, New York, NY 10032. Phone: 212-305-8158; Fax: 212-305-5328; E-mail: rps1{at}columbia.edu.

Key Words: breast cancer • oxidative stress • biomarkers

Reactive oxygen species are important in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including breast cancer. Several population-based case-control studies have shown that various biomarkers of oxidative stress are associated with an increase in breast cancer risk. We selected sisters discordant for breast cancer (n = 645) from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry to explore factors that contribute to variation in plasma protein carbonyls, and to determine whether this biomarker is associated with an increase in breast cancer risk among those with a family history. Late age at menarche, hormone replacement therapy use, and Hispanic race were significantly associated with lower plasma protein carbonyl levels in unaffected sisters. Plasma protein carbonyls were associated with an increase in breast cancer risk [Q2 odds ratio (OR), 1.4; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8–2.7; Q3 OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1–4.9; Q4 OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 0.8–4.2], although not in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that oxidative damage is a risk factor for breast cancer in high-risk women. [Cancer Res 2009;69(7):2966–72]