Effect of phases of the menstrual cycle on biophysical and biochemical parameters of African black women with breast cancer

INTRODUCTION: Many studies on female breast cancer patients do not consider the differences between the follicular and luteal phases when collecting blood samples for laboratory investigations. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effects of the phases of the menstrual cycle on reproductive and thyroid hormones, endocrine disruptors, blood pressure, and body adiposity. METHODS: Participants (n=107) aged 28-50 years, comprising 54 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (cases were menstrual phase and age-matched to 53 seemingly healthy women without breast cancer that served as controls. Anthropometric indices and blood pressure (BP) were obtained. Serum hormones-estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), stimulating follicle hormone (FSH), and free thyroxine (FT4) were quantified by enzyme immunoassay. Endocrine disruptors (EDs)- arsenic, lead and cadmium were quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient with p