INFLUENCE OF MASTECTOMY TECHNIQUES ON ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE-RECEPTOR ANALYSIS IN CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST

Gradual tumor tissue devascularization during mastectomy is thought to decrease estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptor activity. To d etermine whether or not hormone receptor values could be influenced by different mastectomy techniques, 62 patients with carcinoma of the br east had a Tru-cut needle (Baxter Healthcare Corporation) biopsy (prem astectomy sample) and underwent modified radical mastectomy (postmaste ctomy sample) either before (group 1, 40 patients) or after (group 2, 22 patients) axillary lymph node dissection. When the two surgical pro cedures were compared in 33 patients in whom it could be assessed, no significant tendency (p=0.51 for ER and p=0.36 for PgR) for the postma stectomy sample to have hormone receptors levels less than samples tak en at biopsy was detected. Overall, in the two groups (44 assessable p atients), comparison with respect of each patient, between premastecto my and postmastectomy samples showed that the variations in either ER or PgR receptor values, determined by immunoenzymatic assays, were not statistically significant (p=0.32 for ER and p=0.21 for PgR). The cur rent results indicated the relative stability of steroid receptors dur ing the two modified radical mastectomy procedures and suggested that a systematic reference determination of hormone receptors on biopsy be fore modified radical mastectomy is unnecessary.