Determinación de los receptores hormonales en el carcinoma de mama

The determination of hormone receptors in primary breast cancer was studied by immunohistochemical analysis as a practical standard in the evaluation of patients with this type of tumors, as tumor markers, as well as in the prognosis and treatment selection. A total of 95 biopsies with diagnosis of breast cancer were evaluated, excluding those samples that did not meet the minimum requirements, selecting only 50 specimens. The immunohistochemical analysis was performed in the most representative samples of the mammary tumor with the kit DAKO ER/PR System K1900, that uses streptavidina-biotin horseradish peroxidase complex to label the receptors for its qualitative demonstration; this technique is eight times more sensitive than other immunohistochemical methods. The presence of receptors to estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) in the population under study was 58%, ER-/PR- 40%, and ER+/PR- 2%. The group showing a higher percentage of RE+/RP+ was that between 40-49 years with a 76.92%. The usefulness of hormone receptor determination resides in the prognosis of recurrence and survival probabilities of patients. Until now, this methodology is being used; however, it is necessary to evaluate other tumor markers to obtain as much information as possible that could help to select the adequate protocol treatment.