title: Elevated luteinizing hormone in serum, breast cancer tissue, and normal breast tissue from breast cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hormones are known to be important in breast cancer, but studies have focused on steroid hormones and their cognate receptors. We report here an analysis of luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration in serum and breast tissue samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied serum and breast tissue samples from 353 women, 231 with breast cancer and 122 controls. Four breast tissue sites were sampled in every case. Tumor samples were also available from 48 patients and serum from 101 subjects. LH was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LH concentration in breast tissue was significantly higher in samples from patients with breast cancer than in samples from control subjects. In breast cancer patients, there was a decreasing gradiant from the cancer to the normal breast tissue, near and far from the tumor. Serum LH levels could not distinguish between breast cancer and control cases in most cases; but tissue LH could.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LH concentrations were higher in breast tumors than in normal tissue near to or far from the tumor in women with breast cancer, and these concentrations were higher in women with breast cancer than in control cases. The different LH concentrations in breast tissue might be used to detect small or hidden carcinomas. In addition, the identification of luteinizing hormone in breast tissue offers a different explanation for the mechanism of action of LHRH agonists and might identify patients that respond to this treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The University of Texas, M D Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. esilva@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Elvio G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Dinu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mistry
authors.forename: Donghui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Henry M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kuerer
authors.forename: Edward N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: Abel N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shannon
authors.forename: Gabriel N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Hortobagyi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001940:Breast / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D007986:Luteinizing Hormone