The predictive value of female sex
steroid,
estrogen and
progesterone, receptor (ER and PR, respectively) assays in breast, endometrial and
ovarian cancer is reviewed with emphasis on comparative aspects of these malignant
tumors in relation to their
hormone dependency. The endocrine etiology of these three
tumor types seems to be at least partly different, and so is the expression of these receptors in normal and malignant tissues of the breast, endometrium and ovary. There is a tendency for decreased receptor concentrations and disappearance of these receptors in association with advancement of these
malignancies. There is also a decrease in the presence and concentrations of ER and PR in relation to loss of differentiation in breast and
endometrial cancer. Receptor analyses have an established position in the selection of patients with advanced
breast cancer for endocrine treatment, and they give promise of a similar application in
endometrial cancer and in endometrioid
cancer of the ovary. It is not clear whether the disease-free interval is related to the presence or concentrations of ER or PR as such in the
tumor tissue. There is better survival in
breast cancer patients with receptor-positive
tumors, which might be due to a response to endocrine treatment. The same seems to be true for patients with
endometrial cancer. Future progress in the application of female sex
steroid receptor analyses in breast, endometrial and
ovarian cancer needs additional controlled clinical trials and more highly developed receptor assays.