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Analysis of estrogen and progesterone receptors on preoperative fine-needle aspirates

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Summary

For 56 cases of carcinoma of the breast, results of the immunocytochemical assay for estrogen and progesterone receptors performed on preoperative fine-needle aspirates were compared with those obtained on scraping material from the same tumors. The value and usefulness of this last analysis was demonstrated in a previous study.

The level of agreement between the two cytological techniques was assessed by the k statistic. A high level of agreement was found, with k values of 0.909 and 0.889 for estrogen and progesterone receptors, respectively.

The results reported here revealed the reliability of steroid receptor determination on fine-needle aspiration biopsies, provided that sufficient cellularity was available. This technique can replace the open biopsy procedure, inasmuch as it represents a rapid, almost painless, and easily repeated method for the assessment of the receptor status, and is useful for treatment decisions at any time during the course of the disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Anatomical Pathology and Cytology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, V.G. Venezian, 1, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Barbara Frigo

  2. Department of Surgery, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, V.G. Venezian, 1, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Silvana Pilotti & Stefano Zurrida

  3. Division of Medical Statistics and Biometry, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, V.G. Venezian, 1, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Laura Ermellino, Antonia Manzari & Franco Rilke

Authors
  1. Barbara Frigo
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  2. Silvana Pilotti
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  3. Stefano Zurrida
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  4. Laura Ermellino
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  5. Antonia Manzari
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  6. Franco Rilke
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Frigo, B., Pilotti, S., Zurrida, S. et al. Analysis of estrogen and progesterone receptors on preoperative fine-needle aspirates. Breast Cancer Res Tr 33, 179–184 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00682725

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