Clinical data and estradiol receptor evaluation in breast cancer biopsies.

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. (Summary in ITA)