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Query: UMLS:C0278488 (metastatic breast cancer)
 7,812 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This study describes the distribution and frequency of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), androgen receptor (AR), and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in a large series of patients with primary metastatic breast cancer. 329 patients were in this series. All 4 steroid hormone receptors were present in the population: ER was positive in 53%, PR was positive in 38%, AR was positive for 31%, and GR was positive in 52%. Next, the distribution of ERs as well as the distributions of PR, AR, and GR values seemed unimodal. There was a very high correlation between any steroid hormone receptor value expressed as either fmol/mg of cytoplasmic protein or fmol/mg of breast tumor. Of more importance was that alternate methods of data expression did not alter the classification of values as positive or negative. No correlation was found between any of the steroid hormone receptors and laterality of the breast tumor, location and size of the primary tumor, extent of disease, or type of tissue assayed. None of the steroid hormone receptors correlated with age. There was a strong correlation noted between ER values and menopausal status. Neither PR, AR, nor GR was significantly associated with menopausal status. ER status was correlated with axillary nodal status, with the ER positive group containing a high proportion of node-negative patients. Finally, quantitative analysis of steroid receptor hormone values demonstrated correlations among other receptors. Plotting values of any 1 receptor vs. any other receptor resulted in a positive Kendall rank test correlation which was highly significant.
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PMID:Distribution, frequency, and quantitative analysis of estrogen, progesterone, androgen, and glucocorticoid receptors in human breast cancer. 42 88

The influence of steroid hormone receptors on response rate to cytotoxic chemotherapy in 70 patients with metastatic breast cancer was determined in a retrospective study. We have previously reported that 34 of 45 patients with tumors containing low or absent estrogen-receptor values had objective responses to chemotherapy while three of 25 patients with positive estrogen-receptor tumors responded. In the present study, 22 of 34 patients with low or absent progesterone-receptor tumors had an objective response to cytotoxic chemotherapy, while none of eight patients with a positive progesterone-receptor tumor responded (P less than 0.05). Patients having tumors with a negative estrogen receptor and a negative progesterone receptor had a response rate of 88% (21 of 24 patients). There were three patients whose tumors were estrogen-receptor negative but progesterone-receptor positive; none had a response to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy response was not associated with the presence or absence of either androgen or glucocorticoid receptor. We conclude that progesterone-receptor values in addition to estrogen-receptor status may prove to be important correlates of response to cytotoxic chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer. Androgen- and glucocorticoid-receptor analyses are not helpful in predicting response to chemotherapy.
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PMID:Association between steroid hormone receptors and response rate to cytotoxic chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer. 68 73

A study was made of basic mechanisms involved in regression of breast cancer exposed to high levels of synthetic progestins. The possibility that progestins act on breast cancer by way of the progesterone receptor mechanism and subsequent increase of estradiol 17 beta-dehydrogenase activity could not be confirmed in this investigation. It is demonstrated that the progestins megestrol acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate are strong competitors for steroids which bind specifically to androgen, glucocorticoid, and progesterone receptors, indicating that the progestins are able to bind to these receptors with high affinity. In contrast, these progestins do not compete with estradiol for estrogen receptor binding. In 34 patients with progressive metastatic breast cancer, results of receptor studies have been correlated with clinical response during treatment with megestrol acetate. Statistically, regressions were significantly associated with tumors containing large amounts of androgen receptors. Clinical correlation with the quantities of glucocorticoid receptor was weak, while such correlations with estrogen and progesterone receptors were absent. However, we did demonstrate relationships between the quantities of the various receptors in breast cancer. Tumors containing a large amount of androgen receptors also generally contain estrogen receptors. It might be that a favorable response to progestins is confined to the group of patients with hormone-responsive breast cancers, as such characterized by the presence of estrogen receptors, and that within this group the actual androgen receptor levels determine response.
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PMID:Estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid, and progesterone receptors in progestin-induced regression of human breast cancer. 624 8