Estrogen & its Potential Impact on Hormone-Driven Cancers

The DUTCH test is an acronym for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones and involves collection of urine on collection strips four to five times over a 24-hour period. In addition to your standard of care oncology treatment and testing plan, the DUTCH Complete(TM) test by Precision Analytical helps minimize breast cancer risk, impact progression in those who are currently in treatment and provide important education surrounding breast cancer and levels of toxic estrogen.

There are three types of estrogen that should be evaluated, especially in patients with breast cancer—E1, E2 and E3.

What Can the DUTCH Complete Test Tell Us?

Phase I Estrogens: The DUTCH Test measures five Phase I estrogens because these estrogen metabolites can become reactive quinones that cause DNA damage directly in the breast tissue. Looking at estrogen and estrogen metabolite levels in the body is important because these do have an impact in hormone driven cancers.

Detoxification is very important in all cancer patients, but hormone-driven cancers are impacted tremendously by the environment. So, when toxic estrogen is favored in this test, recommendations are made for a specific detoxification plan, supportive nutrition plan and supplements are recommended to impact estrogen detoxification based on your test results.

(Cavalieri EL, Rogan EG. Depurinating estrogen-DNA adducts, generators of cancer initiation: their minimization leads to cancer prevention. Clin Transl Med. 2016 Mar;5(1):12. Doi: 10.1186/s40169-016-0088-3. Epub 2016 Mar 15. PMID: 26979321; PMCID: PMC4792821) (Cavalieri E, Rogan E. The 3,4-Quinones of Estrone and Estradiol Are the Initiators of Cancer whereas Resveratrol and N-acetylcysteine Are the Preventers. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 30;22(15):8238. Doi: 10.3390/ijms22158238. PMID: 34361004; PMCID: PMC8347442).

Cortisol: The DUTCH Test also evaluates the pattern of cortisol, the stress hormone, and provides a thorough understanding regarding patient nutritional deficiencies, DNA damage, gut dysbiosis and neuro inflammation. All potentially contributing to your cancer.

Melatonin: The DUTCH Test also tests melatonin levels. Cancer patients in the Hyperion Functional Medicine program are on melatonin because of its impact on cancer—but most importantly, there is research supporting increased breast cancer risk in those with low melatonin levels, especially in postmenopausal breast cancer. (Schernhammer ES, Hankinson SE. Urinary melatonin levels and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the Nurses’ Health Study cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Jan;18(1):74-9. Doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-08-0637. PMID: 19124483; PMCID: PMC3036562.)

Understanding estrogen metabolite levels, cortisol patterns and melatonin levels are critical when determining breast cancer risk.

Hyperion Functional Medicine continues to raise breast cancer awareness and offers a comprehensive plan to impact breast cancer by evaluating estrogen hormones as part of our functional oncology program. We focus strongly on lifestyle and environmental factors that can contribute to toxic levels of estrogen. We also offer the DUTCH Test to our patients with hormone driven cancers for $300. Contact us to learn more.