Effects of raloxifene on sex steroid hormones and C-telopeptide in postmenopausal women with primary breast cancer.

Abstract

Within a multicentric, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial, postmenopausal women with primary breast cancer were randomized to either 60 or 600 mg daily of raloxifene or placebo administered for 2 weeks prior to surgery. Circulating levels of sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), estrone (E1), estrone-sulfate (E1-S), estradiol (E2), and C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), were determined at baseline and the day before surgery in 37 women enrolled at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. Raloxifene had a statistically significant different effect compared with placebo on SHBG (p<0.001) and E2 (p=0.03), without any dose-response relationship..