Simultaneous and Sequential Determinations of Steroid Hormone Receptors in Human Breast Cancer

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Estrogen (ER), progesterone (PgR) and androgen (AR) receptors were measured in 2 simultaneous or subsequent specimens taken each from 259 patients with breast cancer. In 182 patients, results from receptor assays were studied, either from 1 tumor or from the primary tumor, and a lymph node metastasis, and in 77 sequential biopsies with or without intervening therapy. All assays were performed in a single laboratory, considering 10 fmol/mg cytosol protein bound ligand as receptor positive. The concordance rate in simultaneous ER assays was 85%; there was a considerable high discordance rate for PgR in primary tumor and lymph node metastasis (25%). The overall discordance rate in sequential biopsies for ER was 38% and for PgR 25%. This discordance rate was primarily dependent on the receptor quality of the first assay (ER+: 50%, ER-: 24%, PgR+: 68%, PgR-: 9%). Considering only the ER+ and PgR+ cases, the greatest discordance rate was found in the patients having endocrine treatment following the 1st biopsy (55% and 84%, respectively). The receptor status of 1 tumor biopsy is highly representative for other tumor or lymph node biopsies. Because of the high discordance rate of primarily receptor + cases in subsequent recurrences, the receptor quality of these lesions should be analyzed whenever possible.