title: Metabolic profile of breast cancer in a population of women in southern Spain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are indications that mortality in breast cancer is related with dietary factors, but no study has been large enough to characterise reliably how, this risk is influenced. To establish a logistic regression equation that would predict breast cancer from factors in the endocrinological and metabolic profile, we studied endocrinological and metabolic risk factors that are modified by the diet, in a population of women with breast cancer in southern Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out a simple a case-control study comparing 204 women with breast cancer (96 premenopausal and 108 postmenopausal women) and 250 healthy control subjects. The predictive variables were basal glycaemia, insulin, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), C-peptide, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein-c (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-c (LDL-C), selenium and Quetelet index (BMI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The metabolic profile differed between pre- and postmenopausal patients, and metabolic alterations were greater in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women. The differences between healthy subjects and breast cancer patients were clearly significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings have several potential practical applications in the early detection of breast cancer, especially in premenopausal women; in primary prevention; and in the development of a mathematical model of breast carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan-Bosco
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lopez-Saez
authors.forename: Jose Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martinez-Rubio
authors.forename: Maria Montes
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Carmen Gonzalez
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Carrera
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dominguez Villar
authors.forename: Antonio Garcia
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: de Lomas Mier
authors.forename: Charo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doménech
authors.forename: Avelino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Senra-Varela