Investigation of the cumulative body burden of estrogen-3,4-quinone in breast cancer patients and controls using albumin adducts as biomarkers.

Both 17β-estradiol-2,3-quinone (E2-2,3-Q) and 17β-estradiol-3,4-quinone (E2-3,4-Q) are reactive metabolites of estrogen. Elevation of E2-3,4-Q to E2-2,3-Q ratio is thought to be an important indicator of estrogen-induced carcinogenesis. Our current study compared the cumulative body burden of these estrogen quinones in serum samples taken from Taiwanese women with breast cancer (n=152) vs healthy controls (n=75) by using albumin (Alb) adducts as biomarkers.