Estrogen Receptor, Progesterone Receptor, and HER2 Receptor Markers in Endometrial Cancer

Abstract

Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) is a major gynecologic adenocarcinoma that arises from the endometrium. While the incidence of EC is on the rise worldwide, survivorship and clinical advancement have considerably lagged compared to other cancers. Given the sensitive nature of the endometrium and its high expression of hormone receptors, hormonal therapy has become a favorable alternative treatment compared to highly toxic chemotherapeutics and radiation therapy. Methods: Clinical samples from patients diagnosed with EC were obtained. ER and PR staining were performed according to the S-P kit, and HER2 staining was carried out according to the UltrasensitiveTM S-P immunohistochemistry kit protocol. Chi-square analysis was conducted using the SPSS. P-values of less than 0.05 were taken as an a priori value for statistical significance. Results: Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis showed the overall positive expression rates of ER, PR, and HER2 to be 59.8%, 75.0%, and 71.1%, respectively. Significant co-expression was found among all three receptors, suggesting a cooperative, synergistic effect. More importantly, we found that ER expression was correlated with FIGO staging and cervical invasion, whereas PR expression was associated with histologic type. No clinicopathologic features were correlated with HER2 expression, but HER2 positivity was inversely associated with the degree of HER2 overexpression. Conclusions: These results suggest that EC is a heterogeneous disease that may not conform to traditional, prototypically defined subtypes. The status of ER, PR, and HER2 receptors may have the potential to serve as prognostic indicators for EC, but further analysis is needed to ascertain their prognostic significance.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Impact of Progesterone Receptor Immunohistochemistry: A Study Evaluating More Than 16,000 Tumors

“…In the uterus, endometrioid carcinomas (67%) also showed a much higher rate of PR positivity than serous carcinomas (21%). Consistent with these data, earlier reports have described PR positivity in 62.3-81.3% of endometroid [ 45 – 47 ] but only in 20-46% of serous carcinomas of the endometrium [ 48 , 49 ]. As expected from previous studies (reviewed in [ 35 , 50 ]) an absent or low expression of PR in breast and endometrium cancer was linked to unfavorable patient outcome.…”

Immunohistochemical Expression of Oestrogen and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors in Endometrial Cancerous in Sudanese Patients

“…New anticancer medicines targeted at molecular targets on endometrial cancer cells are required, and certain molecules, such as ER and HER-2, have been suggested. ER and HER-2 are strong candidates for a potential molecular target for monoclonal therapies against these receptors in endometrial cancer because of the high expression of this receptor in endometrial cancer, the invasion, and dissemination, the biological role on tumor growth, the cell membrane position, and the influence on patient prognosis (Wang et al, 2020).…”

“…EC with oestrogen hormone receptors and HER2 receptors causes endometrial cells to expand uncontrollably and the endometrium to thicken, promoting the formation of cancer cells. Knowing the status of these hormone receptors in endometrial cancer would thus be extremely beneficial in terms of therapy options and tumor prognosis (Wang et al, 2020).…”

Expression and significance of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor in endometrial tissue of patients with intrauterine adhesions

“…Progesterone is an important steroid hormone in the body, which interacts with estrogen and periodically acts on the endometrium (13,14). ER and PR are important substances in the female endocrine system, both expressed in the uterus and highly expressed in the endometrium (15). ER and PR are in the nucleus.…”