"Constitutive" skin pigmentation: a marker of breast cancer risk?
There is much evidence to support a link between oestrogen and breast cancer. Both adult and foetal oestrogen may have this predisposing effect, and between-individual and between-population differences in oestrogen may account for much of the variation in risk for breast cancer. Here we suggest that "constitutive" skin colour in women is a marker for prenatal and adult oestrogen levels such that within ethnic groups light-skinned women have experienced higher in utero and adult oestrogen than dark-skinned women. Scores for 'constitutive' skin pigment may therefore be predictive of risk for breast cancer and low scores could be used to identify individuals at high risk.
Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK. jtmanning@uclan.ac.uk
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JT
Manning
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Caswell
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D013223:Statistics as Topic
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004967:Estrogens