Abstract
In tissue specimens resected from 314 primary breast tumors, immunohistochemical stain for estradiol (E2) was carried out, and the results were compared with estrogen receptor (ER) measurements due to dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) method by factors such as heterologous degree assessed from tumor diameter and needle aspiration biopsy, age, and histological type.
The judgments whether the specimens were positive or negative by the both methods were coincided each other in as not so high as 69.1% of the subjects. The most major reason might be that, with an aging, E2-positive rate decreased while ER-Positive rate increased. In younger subjects ER measurements might be lowered by endogenous E2, and some of them might present false-negatives. Among ER-negative cases, those having E2-positive cells in higher rate were expected to respond to endocrine therapy. Various correlations between ER and E2 shown here have suggested that findings from E2 stain in the resected breast cancer tissues is important in a relation to the efficacy of endocrine therapy. Furthermore, the estrogen-dependency of breast cancer should be investigated from both aspects of ER and estrogen.
