Determination of oestrogen receptors with monoclonal antibodies in fine needle aspirates of breast carcinoma

Fifty patients with operable breast carcinoma underwent fine needle aspiration for cytological examination. The smears were prepared by means of the immunocytochemical method using monoclonal antibodies for the determination of the oestrogen receptors (ER). After surgery the contents of the ER were determined with the traditional biochemical technique. The results of the immunocytochemical method showed 31 positives, two of which disagreed with the biochemical results, 15 negatives and four cases which could not be assessed due to the absence of adequate numbers of cells. The ICA staining for ER was expressed on a semiquantitative basis; there was a significant correlation between this and the values expressed by the biochemical technique, with a coefficient of 0.83, P less than 0.000006.