Estrogen and progesterone receptor profile patterns in primary breast cancer

Estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) analyses have been performed in 884 primary, malignant human breast tumor biopsies. Receptor contents were evaluated with respect to age and menopausal status. The frequency of ER+ tumors was found to be significantly higher in postmenopausal than in pre/perimenopausal women. Age rather than menopausal status was found to be associated with this difference. The significant association with age was found in the post- but not the pre/perimenopausal women. The frequency of PgR+ tumors was found to be significantly lower in the postmenopausal than in the pre/perimenopausal women. Neither age nor menopausal status alone could account for this difference, which appears to be due to a compound effect of the two factors. The distribution of receptor profile patterns is described according to menopausal status. The patterns differ significantly in pre- and postmenopausal women. PgR dominates in the premenopausal tumor while ER dominates in the postmenopausal tumor. This difference is apparent within the subgroup of ER + PgR + patients as well. The current tenets for prediction of recurrent disease utilizing steroid hormone receptor determinations are discussed for the group of ER + PgR + patients.