Estradiol 17 beta-dehydrogenase and estradiol binding in human mammary tumors.

The metabolism of estradiol was studied in 31 human breast carcinoma in vitro. All 16 estrogen-receptor-poor tumors transformed estradiol to estrone with percent conversions ranging from 11.4 to 95 except for one poorly differentiated tumor where 0.5% conversion to estrone was observed. On the contrary, only 3 out of 15 estrogen-receptor-rich tumors showed higher than 10% conversion of estradiol to estrone (p = 0.001). There is indication that the enzymatic activity in receptor-poor tumors steadily decreases in premenopausal patients as they approach menopausal age, whereas, the activity steadily increases in post-menopausal patients as the duration of menopause lengthens.