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Clinical Correlations of Steroid Receptors and Male Breast Cancer¹

Laboratories of Chemical Pharmacology [R. B. E.] and Biochemistry [E. B. T.]; and Medicine [M. E. L., R. B. E.] and Surgery [J. P. N.] Branches, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20205; Department of Medicine, University of Texas Medical School, San Antonio, Texas 78284 [W. L. M.]; Department of Biochemistry, University of Louisville Medical School, Louisville, Kentucky 40208 [J. L. W.]; Ben May Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637 [E. R. D., E. V. J.]; Departments of Oncology [A. S.] and Biochemistry [S.C. B.], Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201; Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219 [J. P. N.]

Estrogen receptors (ER) were present in tumor specimens from 29 of 34 cases of male breast cancer. There was a significant negative correlation of ER concentration with age. The quantity of ER tended to correlate directly with progesterone receptor levels, disease-free interval, and response duration among responders, but not to a statistically significant extent. In 13 patients for whom response data were available, no significant correlation was observed between ER levels and either frequency or duration of orchiectomy response. Among the six patients with tumor ER levels of less than 30 fmol per mg of protein, however, only two brief responses to orchiectomy occurred that were of little clinical benefit, while three of seven patients with higher ER responded more favorably. Thus, although this suggests that a relationship between low ER and unfavorable orchiectomy response may emerge as more patients are studied, currently available data do not justify basing therapeutic intervention on ER status of a biopsy in a manner analogous to that used for female breast cancer.

Nine of 14 male breast cancer patients had positive progesterone receptor assays and several had androgen or glucocorticoid receptors. Tissue from only three of ten men with gynecomastia had measurable ER, and these were limited to the 4S component on sucrose gradients.

¹ Supported in part by Contract NO1 CB43969 from the Breast Cancer Task Force, National Cancer Institute.

² Present address: Epidemiology Program, Biometry Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N. C. 27709.

³ To whom requests for reprints should be addressed to Building 10, Room 6B02, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Md. 20205.

Received 8/ 6/79. Accepted 12/20/79.

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				S. H. Giordano, A. U. Buzdar, and G. N. Hortobagyi Breast Cancer in Men Ann Intern Med, October 15, 2002; 137(8): 678 - 687. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]