Estrogen and progesterone receptors in gastric cancer

Cancerous tissue from 86 patients with primary gastric cancer were examined for the presence of receptors for estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR). ER and PgR were present in 8 (15.4%) and 5 (9.6%), respectively, of 52 male patients, 9 (26.6%) and 7 (20.6%), respectively, of 34 female patients, a total of 17 (19.8%) and 12 (14.0%), respectively. One male patient (1.9%) and 4 female patients (11.8%) had both ER and PgR, and 40 male (76.9%) and 22 female patients (64.7%) showed no ER or PgR. The binding activity ranged from 6 to 200 fmol/mg protein for estradiol and from 5 to 58 fmol/mg protein for progesterone. ER- and/or PgR-positive cases were characterized grossly as Borrmann type 4, and microscopically as diffuse type with scirrhous growth pattern. The presence of ER and/or PgR in some gastric cancers indicates the possibility that sex hormonal factors are involved in these tumors.