[Changes in prolactin plasma levels in relation to menopausal status in primary breast carcinoma]

Prolactin plasma level was measured in healthy controls, 110 benign breast lesions and 17 primary breast cancers, and results were correlated in regard to pre and postmenopausal groups of female subjects. Prolactin concentration in healthy controls and benign breast lesions was higher postmenopausally, and in breast cancer premenopausally, with the absence of statistically significant difference. At the same time menopausal cases of primary breast cancer had a significantly higher prolactin level than the same subgroup of healthy controls (222.7 +/- 16.7 vs. 91.8 +/- 11.6; p < 0.05). It can be concluded that the changes of prolactin basal level had a different consequence in female patients with primary breast cancer in correlation with benign breast lesions and healthy controls. Consequently, in future investigations of unclear roles of prolactin in mammary tumourogenesis a possible relation among various hormonal factors, premenopause and primary breast cancer should be discussed.