PHORBOL ESTER AND EPIDERMAL GROWTH-FACTOR RECEPTORS IN HUMAN-BREAST CANCER

  • 1 July 1987
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 7  (4) , 721-727
Abstract
Recently hormone - dependent mammary carcinoma cell lines were shown to exhibit in vitro significantly lower protein kinase C (PKC) activities and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) as compared to hormone - independent cell lines. Measurement of EGF-R levels in primary human breast cancer biopsies were determined by [125I]-EGF binding. The EGF binding correlated inversely with the estrogen (ER) (p < 0.001), progesterone receptor (PR) (p < 0.005) contents and with the age of the patients. In contrast, the amounts of PKC, determined by phorbol ester binding, correlated inversely only with the PR (p < 0.001), but not with the ER (p = 0.065). There was, however, a significant inverse correlation (p < 0.05) between phorbol ester binding and ER levels if ER positive biopsies but with a PR negative value (i.e. with a non functional estrogen receptor) were excluded from statistical analysis. These data suggest an inverse relationship between the EGF-R or the phorbol ester receptor and the steroid receptor system in human breast cancer.

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