[Receptors for steroid hormones apart from breast cancer. Practical value]

The steroid receptor (ER, PgR) content of breast cancer specimens is now widely used as an indicator for hormone sensitivity which is a prerequisite for endocrine therapy. Is it conceivable to extend this steroid receptor determination to other types of tumors in order to select patients who would eventually benefit from an hormonal therapy? It seems that most normal or tumoral tissues contain detectable amount of steroid receptors. The values of each receptor comprise a continuum from very low to relatively high, suggesting that previous considerations of hormone dependence on the basis of presence or absence of hormone receptors may be oversimplified. The steroid receptor concentrations are however higher in target tissues, and could be of clinical interest in endometrium and prostatic cancers. The date are however insufficient to draw firm conclusions regarding their usefulness for treatment.