Estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast cancer patients. Epidemiologic characteristics and survival differences

Abstract

Risk factors commonly associated with breast cancer were studied in relation to: (1) tumor estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) status and (2) the presence of tumor hormone receptors in relation to subsequent survival. For 171 Israeli women diagnosed with breast cancer in 1976 to 1979, tumor hormone receptor status (positive if greater than 20 fmol receptors/mg protein; negative if less than or equal to 20 fmol/mg) and survival as of April 1984 were ascertained. There were 77 ER- versus 94 ER+ and (for 134 PR analyses) 69 PR- versus 65 PR+. Although ER status and PR status were found to be highly positively related, the epidemiologic features of women with an ER+ tumor were different from those with a PR+ tumor. Age tended to be associated positively with both ER+ and PR+. Being postmenopausal, older at menopause or at first birth, nulliparous, having more years of schooling, and a higher body mass index for older women or a lower body mass index for younger women were correlated positively with ER and negatively with PR. Among women with Stage III or IV tumors at diagnosis significant differences existed: restricted mean survival for follow-up time was 47.2 months for ER-, 73.8 months for ER+, 45.8 months for PR-, and 61.9 months for PR+. The combined hormone effects on survival at Stages III to IV showed a similar trend: restricted mean survival of 38.4 months for ER-PR-, intermediate survival with one positive hormone receptor status, and 74.6 months for ER+PR+.

Prognostic value of morphology and hormone receptor status in breast cancer – a population-based study

“…As in previous population-based and clinical studies (Ruder et al, 1989;Northridge et al, 1997;Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group, 1998;Li et al, 2003), tumour morphology and hormone receptor status are important predictors of breast cancer survival. The 5-year survival varied from 66% for NOS carcinoma to 95% for special type tumours, while patients with oestrogen-and progesterone-positive tumours had better survival (90%) than those negative for both receptors (73%).…”

“…Tumour morphology and hormone receptor status are established predictors of breast cancer survival (Ruder et al, 1989;Northridge et al, 1997;Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group, 1998;Li et al, 2003). Detailed stage information is seldom available in population-based studies and few have assessed the influence of both these groups of predictors on prognosis using appropriate statistical methods (Northridge et al, 1997;Li et al, 2003).…”

Risk factors according to estrogen receptor status of breast cancer patients in Trivandrum, South India

“…In the past, most studies in Asian as well as Western populations have found a positive association of BMI with risk of ER1 status of breast cancer among postmenopausal women. 9,35 Among premenopausal women, positive association, 30 no association [36][37][38][39] or inverse association [40][41][42] has been seen for breast cancer risk and increasing BMI. However, the most recent WCRF report 43 suggests that body fatness is protective for breast cancer in premenopausal women.…”

“…8 This led to studies in the past decade that looked at the link of various risk factors of breast cancer and combined ER/PR information to better explain the underlying differences between the various subtypes of breast cancer. [9][10][11][12][13] Chen and Colditz 14 have emphasized the importance of taking into account the ER/PR status information of breast tumors both for effective treatment as well as risk prediction for instituting prophylactic measures. Although there might be numerous ways to subtype breast cancer, the classification into ER1 and ER2 cancer remains a key divider.…”

From milk to malignancy: the role of mammary stem cells in development, pregnancy and breast cancer

“…However, immediately following the first full-term birth, women are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer [90], which in younger women lasts around 10 years, but in older women lasts longer [91]. Pregnancy generally protects against the development of ER/PR(+) tumors, while the tumors that form shortly after pregnancy usually do not express these hormone receptors [84,92,93] and are generally more aggressive. Because pregnancy results in such a strong, universal long-term protective effect against developing breast cancer, understanding the mechanism behind this effect could provide ideal targets to mimic this natural protective mechanism.…”