STEROID-HORMONE RECEPTORS IN CELL-LINES AND TUMOR-BIOPSIES OF HUMAN LUNG-CANCER

Female gender is a significant independent favorable prognostic factor in lung cancer. To study the possible role of sex hormones in lung ca ncer, the expression of sex-steroid receptors and the glucocorticoid r eceptor was investigated in 29 lung-cancer cell lines stemming from sm all-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by means of immunocytochemistry, ligand-binding assays and RNA expression via polymerase chain reaction. In at least 2 methods of investigation , NSCLC cell lines showed a low expression of estrogen receptor in 6, progesterone receptor in 13 and androgen receptor in 12 out of 17 case s examined; sex-steroid-receptor expression was virtually absent in SC LC cell lines. The glucocorticoid receptor was expressed in all 29 cel l lines studied. Additionally, 52 tumor samples from primary lung canc er were investigated for their receptor expression by means of immunoh istochemistry. Among patients with primary lung-cancer sex-steroid-rec eptor expression in tumor biopsies was detected most frequently in fem ale patients (in 69% of 16 cases, vs. 42% of 36 tumors from men) and i n patients with adenocarcinoma. Further research will focus on these s ubgroups. Immunohistology is a feasible method of studying steroid-rec eptor expression in lung cancer. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.