DETECTION OF ESTROGEN-RECEPTORS IN NONINVASIVE AND INVASIVE TRANSITIONAL-CELL CARCINOMAS OF THE URINARY-BLADDER USING BOTH CONVENTIONAL IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY AND THE TYRAMIDE STAINING AMPLIFICATION (TSA) TECHNIQUE

In a retrospective immunohistochemical study, the expression of oestro gen receptors has been investigated in paraffin-embedded transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder with antibody 6F11, using both a conventional immunohistochemical detection system and the highly sen sitive tyramide staining amplification (TSA) technique. The study comp rised 88 invasive and 97 non-invasive carcinomas of 101 female (mean a ge 68.4 Sears) and 84 male (mean age 68.2 Sears) patients. Oestrogen r eceptors were detected in 34 (18 per cent) carcinomas with conventiona l immunohistochemistry and 46 (25 per cent) with TSA, Using TSA, oestr ogen receptors were significantly more often detectable in invasive (3 2/88) than in non-invasive carcinomas (14/97) and in G2/G3 (37/122) ra ther than in G1 (9/63) carcinomas, There mere no associations between patients' age and sex and the expression of oestrogen receptors. The f unctional significance of oestrogen receptor expression in a subset of transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder remains to be det ermined, (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.