2-Methoxyestrone as an Estrogen Metabolite in the Human Subject1

Abstract

During the last 20–30 weeks of pregnancy, the level of 2-methoxyestrone in the urine of 4 subjects ranged from less than 25 μg/24 hr to about 1 mg/24 hr. The levels fluctuated widely both in any one pregnancy and from one subject to another. There was a great difference in the trend of excretion of this metabolite and that of total estrogens in 2 of the subjects. The behavior of 2-methoxyestrone may be partly due to demethylation to form 2-hydroxy steroids. Some evidence in favor of this was obtained by studying the metabolism of exogenous 2-methoxyestrone in male subjects.