Overproduction or deficiency can cause serious health consequences and promote the formation or proliferation of various types of cancer. Some medications and incorrect lifestyles also break the balance
From estrogen to testosterone, from insulin to growth hormone, they circulate in our body more than 50 hormones, whose anomalous variations can open the door to tumors. From the best known, like breast, prostate and thyroid cancerto others who are less thought of: ovary, endometriumup to those of digestive tract (for which the role of insulin and diabetes mellitus is increasingly evident) or lung, in which sexual hormone imbalances enter into a negative synergy with tobacco and favor neoplastic growth. The experts of the Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE), recently met in Syracuse for the national congress of Oncological Endocrinology.
The example of lung cancer
The key role of hormones is indicated, for example, by a study published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine
conducted at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda (USA), which highlighted the sex differences in the rates of lung cancer, in association with male and female sex hormones and the influence of hormone therapy in women. ‘The role of biological sex on lung disease has only recently been investigated, so new research incorporating this variable will be needed to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the disparities observed in lung cancer rates, mediated by lung receptors. male and female sex hormoneswhich will potentially lead to the development of new therapies “he clarifies Salvatore Cannavòcongress organizer, full professor of Endocrinology at the University of Messina and head of the Endocrinology Unit at the “Gaetano Martino” Polyclinic of Messina.
Hormones, health and prevention
The level of hormones fluctuates not only in correspondence with age but also in relation to type of diet and bad lifestyles (alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking) and must be considered a precious alarm bell. Malfunction of the thyroid or pancreas, high blood sugar, weight gain and anything that affects metabolism can depend on and make up for hormones forerunner to tumors. Despite the extraordinary impact on health, few know the key role of hormones which remains mysterious: most Italians do not know how to deal with any imbalances and who to turn to. «Hormones are essential for health and are involved every day and they guide all of our vital functions, from food metabolism to sexual function
from cognitive performance to growth and development processes – he explains Annamaria Colao, president of SIE and director of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery – Endocrinology Unit at the Federico II University of Naples -. Knowing hormones and their importance, but above all putting in place strategies that can help prevent the many diseases in which there is an altered hormonal componentmeans being able to have a profound and positive impact on the health of citizens ».
Hormonal imbalances and cancer
«It is now clear that hormones also play a leading role in oncology – continues Salvatore Cannavò -. They are real messengers produced by the glands of our endocrine system
. Through the bloodstream, in fact, they are transported to different tissues and organs, where they send messages about when and how to perform a certain function. But if there are too many or too few hormones in circulation, which happens in the case of hormonal imbalances, the side effects of this condition can manifest themselves in different ways and also influence the risk of cancer occurrence in at least one in four cases“. In the endocrine glands, for example the thyroid or ovary, benign or malignant tumors can develop, which can manifest as an increased or decreased production of the specific hormone produced by the gland. A hormonal overproduction it is more common in the case of a benign neoplasm, while when we are faced with a malignant transformation, it is more often a hormone deficiency. «In the hormone-cancer relationship, the fact that among the many functions performed by hormones is also crucial cell proliferation, or cell multiplication – specifies the expert -: for this reason some of them, if present in excessive quantities, can act as growth factors favoring unregulated cell reproduction and therefore the appearance of some tumors. Given the importance of the role of hormones, their quantities are regulated in a very precise way so even small alterations can have repercussions on the whole organism. Above-normal levels of sex hormones, estrogen and androgens
for example, they can favor the onset of breast or prostate cancers ».
Medicines and lifestyles that break the balance
And it’s not just hormones that the body produces: you can take hormones voluntarily in the form of medications prescribed by the doctor, or unknowingly by contaminants present in the environment. “Exposure to estrogen in the course of life can change in relation to individual or reproductive factors (such as the age of the first menstruation or of the first pregnancy, the number of children, the time of breastfeeding) and as a consequence of lifestyles – remembers Annamaria Colao -: overweight it favors an excess of estrogen because, especially after menopause, the adipose tissue converts some precursor molecules produced by the endocrine glands into estrogen hormones ». It’s still, obesity causes excessive release of insulin and other hormones that can act as tumor growth factors. As well as excessive alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle they can increase estrogen and insulin levels, so the effect of these unhealthy habits can contribute to the risk of breast cancer mediated by these hormones.
Hormones as drugs
«In this regard it should be remembered that hormones already have an important role in the field of therapiesalso in oncology – underlines Cannavò -: starting from the fact that some hormones favor the development of tumors, molecules that counteract the oncogenic hormonal action. An example is tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen that partially mimics the action of estrogen, but obtaining the opposite effect, that is, to protect against breast cancer and its relapses. In some cancers, such as that of the breast or prostate, hormonal treatment with antagonists therefore represents a cornerstone of prophylaxis and treatment ». Other hormone-based drugs are taken as replacement therapy in case of pathological deficiency (for example GH growth hormone in short stature due to hormonal defect) or after surgical removal of the gland (for example the thyroid, removed because with a large goiter or because it is hyperfunctioning), or for the treatment of symptoms of menopause or for contraceptive purposes. “In all these cases, risks and benefits must be weighed from time to time by specialistsendocrinologists at the forefront, because some hormonal treatments can represent risk factors for the onset of tumors »concludes Cannavò.
September 6, 2022 (change September 6, 2022 | 12:00)
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