Correlation of primary breast cancer histopathology and estrogen receptor content

Abstract

We studied the association of estrogen receptor (ER) with several histologic variables that correlate with breast tumor differentiation and with patient prognosis. Contingency table analysis revealed highly statistically significant correlations between ER content and histologic and nuclear grades, tumor necrosis, and the degree of elastosis and lymphoid cell infiltration. ER positive tumors were more likely than ER negative tumors to demonstrate histological evidence of tumor differentiation. All tumors with histologic grade 1 or nuclear grade 1 (best differentiated) were ER positive or borderline positive. Eighty-nine percent of ER negative tumors were histologic grade 3 and 78.4% were nuclear grade 3 (poor differentiation). ER positive tumors were also correlated with absent tumor necrosis, higher elastic content, and absent lymphoid cell infiltration, all features of good differentiation. Medullary carcinomas were frequently (73%) ER negative, but no relationship between ER and other morphologic types of breast cancer or 9 other morphologic variables was found. ER appears to be a biochemical marker for the degree of differentiation of human breast cancer providing a rationale for the observed differences in biological behavior between receptor positive and negative tumors.

FRA-1 expression level regulates proliferation and invasiveness of breast cancer cells

“…The majority of breast cancers express estrogen receptors (ERs) and the ER status of tumors helps to predict response to hormonal manipulation (McGuire, 1975). In addition, ER þ tumors are histologically more differentiated and have a lower metastatic potential than ERÀ tumors (Fisher et al, 1981). In multivariate analysis, ER status is an independent pronostic factor and the presence of functional ER is a marker of differentiation and a predictor of disease-free survival (Clark et al, 1984).…”

Estrogen receptors and their downstream targets in cancer

“…The ER expression status is related to a variety of histologic characteristics of breast cancer. Most tumors with low grades are ER-positive but, in contrast, tumors demonstrating histologic evidence of poor tumor differentiation are frequently ER-negative (Millis, 1980;Fisher et al, 1981). Breast tumors which lack any ER expression often reveal more aggressive phenotypes (Clarke et al, 1994).…”

Histopathological Types of Operable Early Breast Cancer in the Elderly: Is there a Special Pattern? – a Retrospective, Multicentre Study

“…However, this has been challenged by Wellings and Jensen (1973) [16][17]. The breast cancer is more aggressive in younger patients [18][19]. Our paper shows that 46% of all IDC cases were grade 2, which accounted for 35% of all cases in the study cohort.…”