[Study of estrogen and progesterone receptors in endometrial carcinoma]

This study was conducted to immunohistochemical and biochemical measurements of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in endometrial carcinoma and elucidate the relationship between ER/PR contents and the clinico-pathologic features. Specific monoclonal antibodies to human ER and PR were used and the immunohistochemical (IHC) assay was performed on 36 specimens of endometrial carcinomas. Twenty-eight out of 36 specimens' ER and PR contents were also measured by dextran-coated charcoal analysis (DCC). ER and PR positive rates were 44.4% and 52.8% by IHC, and 50% and 57.1% by DCC, respectively. The two methods correlated significantly, the correlation coefficient between DCC and IHC being 0.565 for ER and 0.563 for PR (P < 0.05). ER and PR contents were much lower in grade 3 than in grades 1 and 2 endometrial carcinomas (P < 0.01). The authors conclude that the levels of ER and PR are associated with the differentiation of endometrial carcinoma. The immunohistochemical and biochemical methods correlate well. A combination of the two methods may be more useful in predicting the prognosis and choosing the treatment.