[Comparative study of estrogen receptor assays between immunocytochemical assay using monoclonal antibody and the...

Estrogen receptor (ER) was measured by the estrogen receptor-immunocytochemical assay (ER-ICA) using monoclonal antibody in 36 mammary carcinomas. Simultaneously, ER and progesterone receptor (PgR) were measured by the dextran coated charcoal (DCC) method. In ER-ICA, tumor cells with estrogen receptors were histologically observed. The proportion of ER-positive tumor cells among tumor tissues and the levels of staining intensity were also examined. Results were compared to those obtained by the dextran coated charcoal (DCC) method. Tumors were evaluated as ER-ICA-positive when they contained more than 10% ER-positive cells. ER at a level of more than 5.0 fmol/mg protein was evaluated ER-positive and PgR at more than 5.0 fmol/mg protein as PgR-positive by the DCC method. Twenty-one out of 24 ER-ICA-positive tumors were ER-positive by the DCC method, and 11 out of 12 ER-ICA-negative tumors were ER-negative by the DCC method. Correlation of ER-ICA and ER by the DCC method was 88.9%. There were 11 PgR-positive tumors, and all were included among ER-ICA-positive tumors which had a high proportion of ER-positive cells and high staining intensities.