Skip to main content

Relationship between the content of estrogen and progesterone receptors and the pathological characteristics in human breast cancer

The Japanese journal of surgery volume 12, pages 191–197 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

Assays of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) were performed by using the dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) method in 124 cases of invasive breast cancer. The results were correlated with clinical and pathological characteristics. There was no correlation between steroid hormone receptor contents and menopausal status, size of tumor, axillary lymph node status, or histological type. The presences of ER and PgR were significantly correlated with histological grade and its mitotic component. 78.3% of well-differentiated (Grade I) tumors were ER positive. Of this number, 61.1% were also PgR positive. In contrast, 69.0% of poorly differentiated (Grade III) tumors were ER and PgR negative. Tumors with a prominent lymphoid infiltration demonstrated a low frequency of positive ER and PgR. There was a significant inverse correlation between the degree of lymphoid infiltration and histological grade. These results suggest that the ER and PgR status of tumors may indicate a malignancy, and prognostic information can thus be obtained independently of other known factors such as size of the tumor and axillary lymph node status.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. McGuire, W.L.: Steroid receptors in human breast cancer. Cancer Res. 38: 4289–4291, 1978.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Nomura, Y., Kobayashi, S., Takatani, O., Sugano, H., Matsumoto, K. and McGuire, W.L.: Estrogen receptor and endocrine responsiveness in Japanese versus American breast cancer patients. Cancer Res. 37: 106–110, 1977.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bloom, N.D., Tobin, E.H., Schreibman, B. and Degenshein, G.A.: The role of progesterone receptors in the management of advanced breast cancer. Cancer 45: 2992–2997, 1980.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Hähnel, R., DiplChem, D., Woodings, T., DiplComp, M. and Vivian, A.B.: Prognositc value of estrogen receptors in primary breast cancer. Cancer 44: 671–675, 1979.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Knight, W.A., Livingston, R.B., Gregory, E.J. and McGuire, W.L.: Estrogen receptors as an independent prognostic factor for early recurrence in breast cancer. Cancer Res. 37: 4669–4771, 1977.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Rich, M.A., Furmanski, P. and Brooks, S.C.: Prognostic value of estrogen receptor determinations in patients with breast cancer. Cancer Res. 38: 4296–4298, 1978.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Walt, A.J., Singhakowinta, A., Brooks, S.C. and Cortez, A.: The surgical implication of estrophile protein estimations in carcinoma of the breast. Surgery 80: 506–512, 1976.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Samaan, N.A., Buzdar, A.U., Aldinger, K.A., Schultz, P.N., Yang, K., Romsdahl, M.M. and Martin, R.: Estrogen receptor: A prognostic factor in breast cancer. Cancer 47: 554–560, 1981.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Pichon, M., Pallud, C., Brunet, M. and Milbrom, E.: Relationship of presence of progesterone receptors to prognosis in early breast cancer. Cancer Res. 40: 3357–3360, 1980.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Nomura, Y.: Estrogen receptor in breast cancer of the Japanese. Gann 67: 703–711, 1976.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Allegra, J.C., Lippman, M.E., Thompson, E.B., Simon, R., Barlock, A., Green, L., Huff, K.K., Do, H. and Aitken, S.C.: Distribution, frequency, and quantitative analysis of estrogen, progesterone, androgen, glucocorticoid receptors in human breast cancer. Cancer Res. 39: 1447–1454, 1979.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bloom, H.J.G. and Richardson, W.W.: Histological grading and prognosis in breast cancer. Br. J. Cancer 11: 359–369, 1957.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Fisher, E.R., Redmond, C.K., Liu, H., Rockette, H. and Fisher, B.: Correlation of estrogen receptor and pathological characteristics of invasive breast cancer. Cancer 45: 349–353, 1980.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Maynard, P.V., Davies, C.J., Blamey, R.W., Elston, C.W., Johnson, J. and Griffiths, K.: Relationship between oestrogen-receptor cantent and histological grade in human primary breast tumors. Br. J. Cancer 38: 745–748, 1978.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Silfverswärd, C., Gustafsson, J., Humla, S., Gustafsson, S.A., Nordenskjord, B., Wallgren, A. and Wrange, O.: Estrogen receptor concentrations in 269 cases of histologically classified human breast cancer. Cancer 45: 2001–2005, 1980.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Rosen, P.P., Menendez-Botet, C.J., Nisselbaum, J.S., Urban, J.A., Mike, V., Fracchia, A. and Schwartz, M.K.: Pathological review of breast lesions analyzed for estrogen receptor protein. Cancer Res. 35: 3187–3194, 1975.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Matsumoto, K., Ochi, H., Nomura, Y., Takatani, O., Izuo, M., Okamoto, R. and Sugano, H.: Progesterone and estrogen receptors in Japanese breast cancer. pp. 43–58, W.L. McGuire, New York, Raven Press, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Scatchard, G.: The attraction of proteins for small molecules and ions. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 51: 660–672, 1949.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Lowry, O.H., Rosebrough, N.J., Farr, A.L. and Randall, R.J.: Protein measurement with the folin reagent. J. Biol. Chem. 193: 265–275, 1951.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. General Rules For Clinical And Pathological Record of Mammary Cancer, 5th Edition, pp. 23–41, Japan Mammary Cancer Society, 1979.

  21. Tubiana, M., Pejovic, M.J., Renaud, A., Contesso, G., Chavaudra, N., Gioanni, J. and Malaise, E.P.: Kinetic parameters and the course of the disease in breast cancer. Cancer 47: 937–943, 1981.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Meyer, J.S., Rao, B.R., Stevens, S.C. and White, W.L.: Low incidence of estrogen receptor in breast carcinomas with rapid rates of cellular replication. Cancer 40: 2290–2298, 1977.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Horwitz, K.B., McGuire, W.L., Pearson, O.H. and Segaloff, A.: Predicting response to endocrine therapy in human breast cancer: A hypothesis. Science 189: 726–727, 1975.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Rao, B.R., Wiest, W.G. and Allen, W.M.: Progesterone receptor in rabbit uterus. I. Characterization and estradiol-17β augmentation. Endocrinology 92: 1229–1240, 1973.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Moore, O.S. and Foote, F.W.: The relatively favorable prognosis of medullary carcinoma of the breast. Cancer 2: 635–642, 1949.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Fisher, E.R., Gregorio, R.W. and Fisher, B.: The pathology of invasive breast cancer. Cancer 36: 1–85, 1975.

    PubMed  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. The Second Department of Surgery, Kumamoto University, School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Honjo, 860, Kumamoto, Japan

    Reiki Nishimura, Atsunobu Misumi, Masaharu Kimura, Takao Tokunaga & Masanobu Akagi

Authors
  1. Reiki Nishimura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Atsunobu Misumi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masaharu Kimura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Takao Tokunaga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Masanobu Akagi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nishimura, R., Misumi, A., Kimura, M. et al. Relationship between the content of estrogen and progesterone receptors and the pathological characteristics in human breast cancer. The Japanese Journal of Surgery 12, 191–197 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02469586

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02469586

Key Words

  • breast cancer
  • estrogen receptor
  • progesterone receptor