ESTROGEN-RECEPTOR IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY IN ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA - A PROGNOSTIC MARKER FOR SURVIVAL

Only a few parameters such as tumor grade and stage are of value in pr ognosticating disease course in endometrial carcinoma, Biochemical ste roid hormone receptor assays could also be useful but are difficult to perform and interpret. Immunocytochemical assay (ICA) might be the me thod of choice for detecting endometrial receptors, Methods: Frozen ti ssue from 78 cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma was examined for the presence of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) with specif ic monoclonal anti-receptor antibodies and the peroxidase-antiperoxida se method, In over 60 cases, frozen tissue was also assayed for ER and PgR by biochemical means, Results: Fifty-five (71%) of the endometria l carcinomas were ERICA-positive and 55 (71%) PgRICA-positive. Althoug h both ERICA and PgRICA correlated significantly with biochemical ER a nd PgR only ERICA was predictive of survival, A woman with a negative ERICA was 4 times more likely to die of her disease than if she were E RICA-positive (P = 0.009; mean follow-up, 37.5 months), Three cases ER ICA-positive and PgRICA-negative survived while 3 others ERICA-negativ e and PgRICA-positive died. Conclusion: ERICA, a technique easy to per form and interpret at the community hospital level, appears to provide prognostic information independent of tumor stage and grade, Such inf ormation might be of value in planning postoperative therapies for wom en with endometrial cancer. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.