The role of androgens in experimental rodent mammary carcinogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer is currently the most frequent, fatal cancer of women in western countries. While estrogens have a widely understood involvement in breast cancer, a significant but not yet fully understood role for androgens has also been suggested. The principal androgen, testosterone, is the obligate steroidal precursor of estradiol, but can equally be metabolized into dihydrotestosterone, a more potent, pure androgen. Both androgens exert their distinctive biological effects via the androgen receptor, which is coexpressed with estrogen receptor alpha in 80 to 90% of breast cancers. The hormonal control of breast development and pathology has been examined experimentally through the use of animal models, notably mice and rats. This review summarizes the data from experimental rodent models

SUBMITTER: Choi J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4429669 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature