Clinical data and estradiol receptor evaluation in breast cancer biopsies

Abstract

To determine the correlation between the response to the estradiol receptor test and some fundamental properties of the tumor and the host, a study was conducted on 337 patients. Primary carcinomas, including lobular carcinomas, and recurrences or metastases are characterized by similar frequencies of response to the estradiol receptor test (68% positive, 26% negative and 6% borderline), while normal breast tissue is characterized by a higher frequency of negative results (3% positive, 71% negative and 26% borderline). Postmenopausal patients show a shift of estradiol receptor levels towards higher values with respect to premenopausal patients. Contemporaneously, an increase in estradiol receptor concentrations with patient age is observed. The clinical stage appears in influence estradiol receptor content only in postmenopausal patients, for whom an increase in the tumor size is accompanied by a decrease in the estradiol receptor levels. The apparent association constant of the receptors assumes values ranging from 1.5 to about 300 X 10(9) M-1 and does not appear to be related to either the type of tumor tissue or to the clinical stage of the tumor, age, or menopausal status of the patients.

PIP: This study reports a statistical analysis of a series of 337 (of 1200 tested) cases of mammary gland tumors for whom complete clinical information was available; estrogen receptor (ER) content was analyzed at various stages of breast cancer with regard to pathologic characteristics, such as the size of the tumor and involvement of axillary nodes, with respect to menopausal status and age of patient. This correlation study showed that primary carcinomas, including lobular carcinomas, and recurrences or metastases were characterized by similar frequencies of response to the ER test (68% positive, 26% negative, and 6% borderline), whereas normal breast tissue was characterized by a higher frequency of negative results (with only 3% positive, 71% negative, and 26% borderline). A shift to higher ER-level values was seem among postmenopausal patients vs. premenopausal ones. At the same time, an increase in ER concentrations with patient age was observed. In postmenopausal, but not in premenopausal, patients clinical stage of the tumor seemed to influence ER content; for these patients, an increase in tumor size was accompanied by a decrease in ER levels. The apparent association constant of the receptors does not appear to be related to either the type of tumor tissue or the clinical stage of the tumor, age, or menopausal status of the patient.