Sex hormone-binding globulin and estrogen receptor in endometrial and cervical cancer

Abstract Estrogen receptors (ER) were estimated in tissue of endometrial and cervical cancers. At the same time sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) was measured in the blood of the patients and in normal pre- and postmenopausal controls. The average SHBG level was significantly higher in postmenopausal patients with ER-positive endometrial or cervical cancers than in patients with ER-negative cancers. There was no correlation between the SHBG levels in plasma and the receptor levels in tissue in either ER-positive or ER-negative tissues. The average SHBG value in postmenopausal patients with ER-positive endometrial cancer was similar to the average value found in normal premenopausal women. In premenopausal patients with cervical cancer there was no difference in SHBG values between ER-positive and ER-negative cancers.