Steroid receptor expression in thymomas and thymic carcinomas

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although protein expressions of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), estrogen receptors (ERa and ERb), progesterone receptor A (PgR-A), and androgen receptor (AR) were shown to play roles in the growth and differentiation of normal thymus and thymic tumors, to the authors' knowledge their association with patient characteristics and prognosis has yet to be determined. METHODS: A series of 140 thymic epithelial tumors (57 type A þ AB thymomas, 40 type B1 þ B2 thymomas, 6 type B3 thymomas, and 37 thymic carcinomas) were examined for GR, ERa, ERb, PgR-A, and AR expression using immunohistochemistry. In addition, the correlation between expression of these hormone receptors and clinicopathologic factors and overall survival (OS) was assessed. RESULTS: GR and ERb demonstrated a high rate of expression in thymomas and thymic carcinomas (82.9% and 76.4%, respectively), whereas rates of ERa, PgR-A, and AR expression were low (13.6%, 0.71%, and 23.6%, respectively). A significant correlation (P < .05) was found between ERa expression and tumor size and between ERb expression and tumor stage. Multivariate analyses revealed that histologic subtype (P ¼ .0039), tumor stage (P ¼ .0012), and GR expression (P ¼ .0025) were significantly correlated with the 10-year OS rate. CONCLUSIONS: GR and ERb demonstrated high rates of expression in thymomas and thymic carcinomas. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that GR expression was associated with better prognosis in patients with surgically resected thymomas and thymic carcinomas. Cancer 2011;117:4396-

Cytoplasm estrogen receptor β5 as an improved prognostic factor in thymoma and thymic carcinoma progression

“…A large number of studies have reported that estrogen is involved in biological functions in human and animal organs through estrogen receptors, including ERα and ERβ (which has at least five isoforms, such as ERβ5) (22)(23)(24). At present, controversial findings exist on the expression of estrogen receptors in thymic tumors, since a number studies reported overexpression of ERβ in these tumors, whereas others studies obtained contradictory results (11,12,13,19).…”

“…Estrogen has been demonstrated to exhibit pleiotropic effects by binding to intracellular receptors, including estrogen receptors (ER)α and β. Previous meta-analyses observed that ERα was not overexpressed in thymic tumors (including thymomas and thymic carcinomas) compared with in benign thymic tissues, whereas ERβ was overexpressed, which may indicate binding to ERβ and complex estrogen physiological effects (12,13).…”

“…A number of studies have reached the conclusion that estrogen induces thymic atrophy, and certain studies have demonstrated that estrogen may affect the development of thymomas and thymic carcinomas (9)(10)(11). However, verification of such findings is not possible due to limited data, and the expression and distribution of estrogen receptors in thymomas and thymic carcinomas remain controversial (10)(11)(12). In addition, the biological effect of estrogen is unclear.…”

Metastatic Thymoma-Associated Myasthenia Gravis: Favorable Response to Steroid Pulse Therapy Plus Immunosuppressive Agent

“…However, it was also reported to act on both neoplastic thymic epithelial cells and lymphocytes [31]. Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is expressed in all histological types of thymoma, and no significant difference has been identified among the different subtypes [32]. Furthermore, steroid pulse therapy has been reported to induce the apoptosis of both neoplastic thymic epithelial cells and lymphocytes [15,33].…”

Neoplasias epiteliales del timo: timoma y carcinoma tímico: Caracterización, tratamiento y variables asociadas a supervivencia

“…Un aspecto relevante en el enfrentamiento de las NET, son los significativos avances en biología y patología molecular que recientemente han identificado características moleculares de ellas 6,46,47 . Una caracterización molecular de las NET podría ofrecer estrategias para optimizar el diagnóstico, tratamiento y pronóstico.…”