Is immunohistochemical analysis of oestrogen and progesterone receptors in endometrial carcinoma superior to the radioligand binding assay?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate tissue and steroid receptor heterogeneity in endometrial carcinoma specimens as a possible source of discordance between biochemically assayed receptor status and response to endocrine treatment. For this purpose the oestrogen receptor (OR) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels in specimens from 16 endometrial carcinoma patients were analysed on adjacent tissue sections using both a radiochemical and an immunohistochemical assay. With immunohistochemical receptor analysis extensive tissue and tumour cell receptor heterogeneity was observed. Many tumour samples revealed up to 75 per cent contamination with benign tissue. In the majority of cases, evaluation of immunoreactivity in normal tissue elements of the specimen could explain the apparent discordance between semiquantitative immunohistochemical receptor scoring of tumour cells and radiochemical receptor assay. Immunohistochemical analysis of OR and PR in endometrial carcinoma specimens allows a more specific determination of tumour cell receptor content and hence may yield a more accurate prediction of response to endocrine therapy than the biochemical assay.

Evidence of Progesterone Receptors in the Mucosa of the Urinary Bladder

“…Estimation of estrogen and progesterone receptors by immunohistochemical assay is now considered a well-established and reliable procedure because of the excellent correlation found between such technique and quantitative estrogen and progesterone receptors enzyme immunoassay (23). The presence of progesterone receptors in our series is similar to some animal (3) and human studies of the mucosa of the trigone (5-7) or lateral wall of the urinary bladder (7) but not all studies (22,24).…”

Study of Oestrogen and Progesterone Receptors in Normal Human Endometrium during the Menstrual Cycle by Immunocytochemical Analysis

“…Histo logical dating was performed according to the criteria of Noyes et al [ 15] by 2 observers who had no prior knowledge of the chronological day of the cycle. The menstrual cycle was divided into I: menses (day 1-5); II: early proliferative (day 6-9); III: late proliferative (day [10][11][12][13][14]; IV: early secretory (day 15-21); V: late secretory (day 22-28). Only those specimens with consistent histological appearance with their chronological menstrual day were included.…”

Clinical value of new techniques of gynecological tumor assessment

“…The estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status of a neoplasm can nowbe assessed immunocytochemically with the aid of monoclonal antibodies. Theimmunocytochemicalfindings correlate well with those obtained by biochemical techniques and havethe great advantage of demonstrating the cellular localization of the receptorsites, thus allowingfor the differentiation between tumor‐associated and non‐neoplastic stromalreceptors, a vitally important distinction not possible with the biochemicaltechniques(57–62). Immunocytochemical staining also permits the demonstration of tumorheterogeneity for receptor content, though this is probably not of greatpractical significance.…”