Oestrogen receptor values and histological grade in human breast cancer

Histological grading of 126 oestrogen receptor positive and 81 oestrogen receptor negative breast carcinomas, using the WHO system, showed that some tumours in all grades had high receptor values, others low. There was no correlation between the receptor values and histological grade. It is suggested that factors other than the degree of dedifferentiation of the tumour may be responsible for the consistent tendency for receptor negative tumours to be placed in a high histological grade.