Histopathologic correlations of estrogen and progestin receptor protein in epithelial ovarian carcinomas

One hundred thirteen primary epithelial ovarian cancers were analyzed for estrogen and progestin receptor content and the results compared with multiple histologic parameters (grade, necrosis, fibrosis, lymphocyte infiltration, mitoses, tumor giant cells, psammoma bodies, stroma). Grade 4 cancers had a statistically greater likelihood of containing estrogen receptors (P = .03) than did lower grade cancers. However, grade 3 tumor samples containing abundant (3+ and 4+) mitoses had a significantly greater number of estrogen receptor negative cancers (P = .01) than did cancers containing none to moderate (0-2+) mitoses. The only histologic parameter that demonstrated any statistically significant association with progestin receptor content was the presence of lymphocyte infiltration. Samples demonstrating moderate (2+ and 3+) lymphocyte infiltration had a significantly (P = .005) greater chance of being progestin receptor negative than cancers containing none to minimal (0 to 1+) lymphocyte infiltration. This study suggests that estrogen and progestin receptor content of epithelial ovarian cancers is associated with grade and mitoses (estrogen receptor) and lymphocyte infiltration (progestin receptor). With the exception of these relationships, the estrogen and progestin receptor content of ovarian cancers appears independent of all of the histologic parameters examined.