Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin and Estrogen Receptor in Breast Cancer: Technique and Preliminary Clinical Results*

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Abstract
The binding capacities of SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin) and ER (estrogen receptor) were measured by agar gel electrophoresis with dextrancoated charcoal treatment and also by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation in the sera from 19 women with breast cancer to assay the correlation between SHBG and ER in breast cancer. SHBG levels were also measured by agar gel electrophoresis with dextrancoated charcoal treatment in control sera from 20 normal women. Two kinds of 17β-estradiol-binding substances were recognized in the cytosol of breast cancer cells and they were confirmed to be ER and HSBG. Out of 13 postmenopausal patients with breast cancer, the SHBG levels in 6 ER-positive cases (66 ± 13 pmol/ml plasma, mean ± SD) were significantly higher than the levels of 10 controls (35 ± 7.6 pmol/ml; P 0.05). The findings suggest that correlation between SHBG and ER in postmenopausal breast cancer is possible, but no significant difference was noted between the SHBG levels in ER-positive premenopausal breast cancer patients and premenopausal normal women.