Steroid receptor expression in thymomas and thymic carcinomas.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Endocrinology
• Pathology

Background:

• Hormone receptors like glucocorticoid receptor (GR), estrogen receptors (ERα, ERβ), progesterone receptor A (PgR-A), and androgen receptor (AR) are implicated in thymus development and thymic tumors.
• The association between these hormone receptors and patient characteristics or prognosis in thymic epithelial tumors remains largely undetermined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the expression of GR, ERα, ERβ, PgR-A, and AR in thymic epithelial tumors.
• To determine the correlation between hormone receptor expression and clinicopathologic factors, including patient survival.

Main Methods:

• Immunohistochemistry was used to examine GR, ERα, ERβ, PgR-A, and AR expression in 140 thymic epithelial tumors.
• Statistical analyses assessed correlations between receptor expression, tumor characteristics, and overall survival (OS).

Main Results:

• High expression rates of GR (82.9%) and ERβ (76.4%) were observed in thymomas and thymic carcinomas.
• Low expression rates were found for ERα (13.6%), PgR-A (0.71%), and AR (23.6%).
• ERα expression correlated with tumor size, ERβ with tumor stage, and GR expression, tumor stage, and histologic subtype were significantly associated with 10-year OS.

Conclusions:

• GR and ERβ are frequently expressed in thymomas and thymic carcinomas.
• GR expression is associated with a better prognosis in patients with surgically resected thymomas and thymic carcinomas.