A new study was released Wednesday that discloses the role that estrogen plays in breast cancer. Through the University of Illinois, researchers announced that not only does estrogen speed up the process of breast cancer once it has started and help to transport the disease to other cells, but it actually can block our immune cells from being able to kill these cancerous cells. It does this by inducing the expression of an inhibitor enzyme, much like similar inhibitors that can cause depression by blocking the release of serotonin. This study, which is the first of its kind, reports that
“when estrogen binds with an estrogen receptor the complex promotes production of a granzyme inhibitor, proteinase inhibitor 9 (PI-9). That inhibitor binds the granzyme, preventing it from initiating the molecular cascade that kills tumor cells.”
That’s a fancy way of saying that an excess of estrogen won’t let our white blood cells do their job. The scientists go on to point out that it wasn’t previously known that estrogen played this specific role in breast cancer, and that "the amounts of estrogen required to do this are quite small" (David Shapiro, a UI professor of biochemistry who conducted the study).
Most birth control pills report levels of synthetic estrogen between 20 micrograms (mcgm) and 50 mcgm. The level that most women naturally have in their system is 50-400 picograms (pgm). (For those who don’t feel like pulling out the calculator, 1 microgram is equal to 1 million picograms.) Also, birth control pills sends a constant stream of synthetic hormones (estrogen and progesterone) through the body, whereas the natural cycle of a woman has significantly lower levels during much of the month, with a peak right before and after ovulation. What doesn’t make sense to me then is why Planned Parenthood and other health organizations refuse to admit what has been known by many for years: that birth control leads to breast cancer.
For a long time we’ve known that there is a correlation between levels of estrogen and a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer, but there was no conclusive scientific evidence that showed us why. This new research points right to the heart of the problem and gives us a first hand look at exactly what excess estrogen does to a woman’s immune system that prevents her from killing off cancerous cells from the start.
For years, Planned Parenthood and others have responded to our argument that
birth control is causing an increase in breast cancer by saying that it helps to
prevent other kinds of cancers, such as ovarian and endometrial cancers. I hope
now that Planned Parenthood will stop advertising that taking birth control will
reduce your risk of cancer, when the evidence is so obviously contrary. With
Breast Cancer as the second leading cause of death of women, even the
possibility that it might increase a woman’s chances of contracting the deadly
disease is just too much.
The full study can be found at the
Oncogene
journal website. Oncogene is one of the world's leading cancer journals and
is published weekly.
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