Glucocorticoid receptor expression in breast cancer associates with older patient age

Breast cancer can be classified according to estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and HER2 receptor expression. Recent evidence suggests that activation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) contributes to breast cell survival, although the incidence of GR expression in primary human breast tumors is not well established. We therefore evaluated ER, PR, HER2, and GR by immunohistochemistry from 231 patients and found that while African American (AA) patient tumors were much more likely to be ER negative compared to tumors from non-AA patients, GR expression was significantly higher in tumors from patients >or=50 regardless of ancestry. Prospective examination of GR expression in tumors should be considered to determine whether GR contributes to long-term clinical outcome.