The activity of aromatase (estrogen synthetase) in tumor tissue of breast cancer patients was investigated by biochemical and immunohistochemical methods. The detection of medium or high enzyme activity in tumor tissue was virtually the same for both methods. According to immunohistochemical analysis, aromatase activity was localized mainly in malignant epithelial cells, being reliably higher in the tumors of patients in menopause than in those whose cycle was intact. Doubts about the biological role of aromatase in breast cancer tissue may be dispelled if the tissue topography of the enzyme and the individual ratio of epithelial to stromal cellular elements in individual neoplasms of the breast are taken into account.

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