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Oestrogen receptor-beta as a potential target for treatment in advanced colorectal cancer: a pilot study
Henk van Halteren1, Dries Mulder, Emiel Ruijter
1Department of Internal Medicine, Admiraal de Ruijter Hospital, Goes, the Netherlands.
Aims:
Oestrogen receptor-beta (ER-β) is expressed in colorectal cancer. Theoretically, ER-β stimulation could slow down tumour proliferation, and this is supported by preclinical research data. While preparing a Phase II trial for advanced colorectal cancer patients we performed a pilot study with three questions: (i) in what percentage of patients do metastases display strong ER-β1 expression; (ii) is there any concordance in expression between primary tumours and metastases; and (iii) is the immunohistochemical (IHC) scoring procedure reproducible?
Methods And Results:
Thirty patients were selected, 15 with locoregional lymph node metastases and 15 with either synchronous or metachronous hepatic metastases. All primary tumours and metastases were analysed for immunohistochemical ER-β1 expression according to a predefined scoring system. The scoring was performed independently by two pathologists in order to calculate the weighted kappa value. Strong ER-β1 expression was found in four of 15 hepatic metastases and four of 15 lymph node metastases. In 15 of 30 patients, the level of ER-β1 expression in the metastasis was concordant with that observed in the primary tumour. Weighted kappa values of IHC ER-β1 expression were satisfactory.
Conclusions:
In twenty-five per cent of patients there was strong ER-β1 expression in metastases, biopsy of which will be considered mandatory for trial inclusion.
Insights
Strong oestrogen receptor-beta 1 (ER-β1) expression was found in 25% of colorectal cancer metastases. This finding supports mandatory biopsy for ER-β1 expression analysis in patients undergoing clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Oestrogen receptor-beta (ER-β) is present in colorectal cancer.
- ER-β stimulation may inhibit tumor growth, supported by preclinical data.
Purpose of the Study:
- Assess ER-β1 expression in colorectal cancer metastases.
- Determine concordance of ER-β1 expression between primary tumors and metastases.
- Evaluate the reproducibility of immunohistochemical (IHC) scoring for ER-β1.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed ER-β1 expression in primary tumors and metastases from 30 colorectal cancer patients.
- Utilized a predefined scoring system for IHC analysis.
- Two pathologists independently scored samples to calculate weighted kappa values for reproducibility.
Main Results:
- Strong ER-β1 expression was observed in 4/15 hepatic and 4/15 lymph node metastases.
- ER-β1 expression levels were concordant between primary tumors and metastases in 15/30 patients.
- IHC scoring for ER-β1 demonstrated satisfactory reproducibility.
Conclusions:
- Twenty-five percent of patients exhibited strong ER-β1 expression in metastases.
- Biopsy for ER-β1 expression analysis is recommended for trial eligibility.
