Day 034 - 11 Oct 94 - Page 26
1
2 The next paragraph says: "To the extent that endogeneous
3 oestrogens" -- by "endogeneous" we are referring to
4 oestrogens produced within the body as opposed to
5 oestrogens that are taken as pills or as birth control
6 pills or as hormonal supplements: "To the extent that
7 endogeneous oestrogens influence the onset of breast
8 cancer, sustained elevation of oestrogen levels likewise
9 could predispose women with the disease to experience more
10 virulent illness, i.e. high oestrogen levels may
11 facilitate the spread of tumours, once initiated, by
12 providing an environment favourable to their growth."
13
14 So far in his discussion he has been laying out evidence,
15 which is well accepted and was well accepted back in 1985,
16 that higher levels of oestrogen, whose function in the
17 body after all was to stimulate -- one of whose functions
18 is to stimulate the multiplication of breast cells, that
19 excessive levels or sustained elevations of oestrogens are
20 a risk factor for breast cancer. In the third paragraph
21 -- I am just about finished with this paper -- the author
22 states:
23
24 "High-fat diets have been hypothesized to contribute in
25 several ways to sustained elevation of serum oestrogen
26 levels". So, here the author is not only saying that the
27 oestrogen levels may encourage or do encourage cancer, but
28 that high fat diets have been hypothesised to elevate
29 oestrogen levels in several ways. "Conversion of
30 androstenedione in peripheral adipose tissue to estrone,
31 which is known to be carcinogenic in animals, is the
32 principal source of endogenous oestrogen in postmenopausal
33 women".
34
35 All he is saying in that sentence is that the fat tissue
36 causes oestrogen to be produced, particularly
37 estrone: "High-fat diets likely contribute to early onset
38 of menarche, which adds to a woman's cumulative exposure
39 to oestrogen".
40
41 He goes on to describe other contributors: "It is also
42 known that greater fecal and intestinal bacteria, which
43 are characteristic of high fat diets, contribute to
44 estrone and estradiol production".
45
46 I will not take any further time with this paper, unless
47 there is a question about it. I simply wanted to show
48 that those connections, as described by Dr. Gregorio, were
49 already known and already accepted back in 1985 and
50 reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute,
51 which is the leading cancer research centre in the United
52 States. Dr. Gregorio, by the way, is from the State
53 University of New York in Buffalo.
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: So what you are saying is that the level of
56 oestrogen and the length of time over which it is a
57 factor, which itself can be related to early menarche and
58 late menopause, is cogent evidence for a causal effect on
59 breast cancer?
60 A. That is right, my Lord.
