Please help me understand this study

gentianviolet

I posted on another thread asking for help in understanding this study from the Johns Hopkins Breast Center.  This time I will include the direct link to the material as well as my previous posting.

http://www.hopkinsbreastcenter.org/artemis/20111/22.html

Previous posing is as follows. gentianviolet wrote:

Has anyone read the latest information (about the androgen receptor gene) from the Breast Center at Johns Hopkins?  It is found in both prostate and breast cancers yet it has opposite effects on these diseases.  It was done at Cleveland Clinic and is in the November 2011 issue of Artemis (Johns Hopkins).  I googled androgen receptors/breast cancer to see if I could understand the article more clearly however I am still confused.  Apparently drinking red wine cuts the risk of prostate cancer but I still don't know if that means it is a risk for breast cancer or not.  If anyone understands this latest research, please explain it to me.  I feel dumber than a rock.  I do love my wine with dinner.  Barbara

gentianviolet

Can you tell I am not computer literate......I just tried to plug in the link I provided and a "not found" page came up. 

If you google:  Artemis - Breast Cancer Newsletter November 2011, the page can be found.  The study is the 5th up from the bottom of the page, titled "Researchers Discover the Same Gene has Opposite Effects in Prostate, Breast Cancers."

etherize

That's a great resource; thanks for posting!  

I guess it just means that things are different for men than us.  (I don't mean to sound flippant, but I didn't get much more from the study than you did!) 

For women with ER+ bc, especially if we're post-menopausal, we have to weigh the risk/benefit of drinking small amounts of red wine.  Good for the heart, but bad for cancer.  I guess men are lucky -- they get to keep drinking! ;-)

My husband works in a winery (we live in California wine country), so it's hard for me to completely give up my wine ... I'll probably never stop completely.

Miles2Go

My oncologist drinks and recommended red wine to me several years ago, a glass a day mind you; everything in moderation, that's the guideline.

I am beginning to think you can find a web site to support anything from soup to nuts:  I look for trends (3 sites stating the same information with recent publishing dates).  Otherwise I call it, making Making choices According to The Bible of the Most Recent Study.

If you live in America, eat the grown-with-pesticides food, drink the water, use cosmetics and cleaning solvents, and breathe the air there's a health risk issue.  If you want to live in a hermetically-sealed room you can live a very safe (and dull) life.  I choose to live, celebrate the temporary, and practice joie de vivre! 

Remember ! We're not on the Titanic!

I submit you are smart; you asked questions!  You have miles to go.

ma111

I actually did study this subject, but through the Lombardi cancer center through George Town University in Washing DC. They are researching taking an anti Androgen for those who's breast cancer is positive for androgen. They got some of my specimen from where I had my surgery. I was - so I did not qualify. http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/search/results?protocolsearchid=9769537They told me it was rare to be positive.

gentianviolet

So in trying to feel less guilty about drinking a glass of red wine with dinner; this is how I interpret this study.

1.  After menopause AR ceases (bad thing for women)

2.  AR stimulates PTEN in  breast cancer (good thing for post menopause women).  After menopause the need to supplement AR is a strategy for treating breast cancer.

3.  Red wine increases PTEN expression

4.  Therefore red wine in moderation is a good thing for post menopause women.  

5.  Can I now have a glass of red wine with dinner without a serving of guilt?