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Updated: Mar 6, 2026
Quantitative Immunohistochemistry of the Cellular Microenvironment in Patient Glioblastoma Resections
Published on: July 31, 2017
Glucocorticoid receptor expression in 20 solid tumor types using immunohistochemistry assay
Thaddeus S Block1, Tiffany I Murphy2, Pamela N Munster3
1Corcept Therapeutics, Inc, Menlo Park, CA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Background:
Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activity plays a role in many aspects of human physiology and may play a crucial role in chemotherapy resistance in a wide variety of solid tumors. A novel immunohistochemistry (IHC) based assay has been previously developed and validated in order to assess GR immunoreactivity in triple-negative breast cancer. The current study investigates the standardized use of this validated assay to assess GR expression in a broad range of solid tumor malignancies.
Methods:
Archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor bank samples (n=236) from 20 different solid tumor types were analyzed immunohistochemically. Nuclear staining was reported based on the H-score method using differential intensity scores (0, 1+, 2+, or 3+) with the percent stained (out of at least 100 carcinoma cells) recorded at each intensity.
Results:
GR was expressed in all tumor types that had been evaluated. Renal cell carcinoma, sarcoma, cervical cancer, and melanoma were those with the highest mean H-scores, indicating high levels of GR expression. Colon, endometrial, and gastric cancers had lower GR staining percentages and intensities, resulting in the lowest mean H-scores.
Conclusion:
A validated IHC assay revealed GR immunoreactivity in all solid tumor types studied and allowed for standardized comparison of reactivity among the different malignancies.
Impact:
Baseline expression levels of GR may be a useful biomarker when pharmaceutically targeting GR in research or clinical setting.
