Evaluation of Hormone Quantification as an Orientation Screening in the Diagnosis of Hormone-Dependent Breast Cancers in Women in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Aim: Estrogens and progesterone are essential for breast development in women. Paradoxically they promote the development of breast cancer, through the stimulation and proliferation of cells by the action of hormone receptors. In Côte d'Ivoire, more than half of all diagnosed cases of breast cancer are hormone-dependent. Because of the link between female hormones and breast cancer, the consideration of certain factors, such as the period of influence of hormones (estrogen and progesterone) as well as their quantification, could be considered in orientation screening for hormone-dependent breast cancer.

Methodology: A case-control study conducted at the Cancerology Department of the Treichville University Hospital, the National Blood Transfusion Centre, and the Pasteur Institute of Côte d'Ivoire recruited 85 participants, including 39 cases and 46 non-menopausal and menopausal controls. Socio-demographic information and the participants' clinical status were collected through a questionnaire and consultation of the medical file. Blood samples were taken in dry red tubes with a coagulation activator on the day of inclusion for postmenopausal women and during the follicular phase for non-menopausal women (between days 4 and 7 of the menstrual cycle). The quantification of hormones (estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH) was performed by immunoassay on the Cobas e411 Analyser®.

Results: Postmenopausal cases had early menarche (13 years) and late menopause (52.46 years) compared to controls and also had slightly higher mean plasma oestradiol 2 and progesterone levels (P=0.04; P=0.017). Among these cases, those with ER+ tumors had slightly higher mean plasma oestradiol-2 levels (15.28 pg/mL) than those with ER- tumors (9.20 pg/mL) (P=0.03).

Conclusion: The epidemiological investigation and the quantification of hormones in the participants' blood plasma revealed a positive association between the period of influence of these hormones, their concentrations, and hormone-dependent breast cancer in postmenopausal women.