title: Dietary lignan intake and androgen receptor expression in breast tumors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lignans, a class of phytoestrogen commonly found in the Western diet, have been linked to decreased breast cancer risks in epidemiologic studies. Similar to estrogen receptors, the androgen receptor (AR), a prognostic factor in breast tumors, may be affected by lignans. However, few studies have investigated this link in the context of breast cancer etiology. We evaluated the relationship between dietary lignan intake and AR expression in incident breast tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tumor tissue, epidemiological, and clinical data were collected from 216 women with incident, primary, histologically confirmed breast cancer enrolled in the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) Data Bank and BioRepository (DBBR). On average, three tumor cores from each participant were assembled into a tissue micro array. After immunohistochemical staining, a trained RPCI pathologist determined AR status of each core. Lignan intake was calculated from a food frequency questionnaire collected upon enrollment into the DBBR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed a weak positive association between dietary lignans and AR expression [β (SE) 27.6 (17.0), p 0.10], and there was no significant difference in lignan intake across categories of AR expression (p = 0.09, R (2) = 0.35).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results do not support a clear relationship between dietary lignan intake and AR expression. This investigation is the first, to our knowledge, to examine dietary lignan intake and AR expression in breast tumors. Further research is needed within a larger, more representative sample to determine whether lignan intake is truly associated with AR expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA. Annalynn_williams@urmc.rochester.edu.|Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA. Annalynn_williams@urmc.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: AnnaLynn M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonner
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ochs-Balcom
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.|Department of Pathology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: McCann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000728:Androgens; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D017705:Lignans / Q000737:chemistry*; D008875:Middle Aged; D048789:Phytoestrogens; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
chemical_list: C410798:AR protein, human; D000728:Androgens; D017705:Lignans; D048789:Phytoestrogens; D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen