Circulating levels of insulin‐like growth factor I, its binding proteins ‐1,‐2, ‐3, C‐peptide and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer

Higher levels of circulating Insulin‐like Growth Factor (IGF)‐I may be associated with higher risks for premenopausal breast cancer. We investigate the associations between circulating levels of IGF‐I, its binding proteins (IGFBPs) ‐1, ‐2, ‐3, C‐peptide and postmenopausal breast cancer. This is a prospective study nested in 2 Dutch cohorts. The study population included women who were postmenopausal at baseline. Breast cancer cases were identified through linkage with cancer registries. Controls were matched to cases by cohort, age, date of blood donation and place of residence. In total, 149 breast cancer cases and 333 healthy controls were included. Plasma levels of IGF‐I, IGFBP‐1, ‐2, ‐3 and C‐peptide were measured by radioimmunoassays. Estimates of the relative risk for breast cancer associated with the quartiles of the peptides' circulating levels were obtained by conditional logistic regression. Models were adjusted for BMI, age at menarche and age at first full‐term delivery. For IGF‐I, the adjusted OR (95% CI) of the top vs. bottom quartile was 1.1 (0.6; 2.1); for IGFBP‐1 it was 0.7 (0.3; 1.3); for IGFBP‐2, 1.1 (0.5; 2.4); for IGFBP‐3, 1.6 (0.7; 3.5), for C‐peptide, 1.3 (0.7; 2.7) and for IGF‐I/IGFBP‐3 ratio, 1.0 (0.5; 1.8). Our data do not support an association between postmenopausal circulating levels of IGF‐I, IGFBP‐1, ‐2, ‐3, C‐peptide and postmenopausal breast cancer. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.