Steroids and palmitic acid in African American women with uterine leiomyomata

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine if serum estradiol, urinary androgens and palmitic acid levels are different in African American women with uterine leiomyomata (ULM) compared with women without ULM. DESIGN: Prospective study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve African American women signed IRB consents and were enrolled in this study: seven women with ULM and five women without ULM to serve as controls. Morning urine and serum after a 12-hour fast were collected during menstrual cycle days 3 to 8. Levels of androgens and palmitic acid in urine and levels of estradiol in serum were determined by GC/MS method in Varian instrument. Metabolites were extracted using c-18 columns, hydrolyzed then re-extracted again before being derivatized. The resultant peak areas were used for comparison between the two groups. Estradiol was analyzed by RIA. The statistical analysis was performed with paired T-test. RESULTS: The mean level of palmitic acid in urine in the patients with ULM was 1,203,037 (SE ± 20,515) GC units and for the control group was 1,300,307 (SE ± 59,128) GC units. Urine androgens levels were not different between patients with ULM and the control group (p= 0.07). The mean level of estradiol in serum in patients with ULM was 90.8 (SE ± 15.2) pg/mL and in control patients was 60.8 (SE ± 13.3) pg/mL. CONCLUSION: Serum estradiol was higher in ULM group compared to the control group which validates the theory that uterine fibroid growth respond to higher estrogen levels. Also, urine palmitic acid level was higher in ULM group versus the control group. The significance of this increase is suspected to be related to diet; more subjects are needed and future research is needed to determine relationship between palmitic acid and ULM growth.