Sex steroid receptor distribution in the human larynx and laryngeal carcinoma

Abstract

Previous reports of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) in the human larynx and laryngeal carcinoma have relied on ligand-binding techniques using cytosol from tissue homogenates. These methods obscure the contribution of different tissue components to total receptor content. Recently developed, highly specific monoclonal antibodies to human ER and PgR were able to discern the presence of ER and PgR at the cellular level in 12 specimens of normal laryngeal tissue and eight laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas. Localization of ER and PgR was observed in the nuclei of vocalis muscle. No evidence of ER or PgR was found in epithelial components of the normal larynges or in laryngeal carcinomas. These results extend previous findings in lower primates and rodents to the human larynx and clarify previously reported receptor analyses of laryngeal carcinomas.