scholarly journals Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Testing in Breast Cancer: ASCO/CAP Guideline Update

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1346-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly H. Allison ◽  
M. Elizabeth H. Hammond ◽  
Mitchell Dowsett ◽  
Shannon E. McKernin ◽  
Lisa A. Carey ◽  
...  

PURPOSE To update key recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) testing in breast cancer guideline. METHODS A multidisciplinary international Expert Panel was convened to update the clinical practice guideline recommendations informed by a systematic review of the medical literature. RECOMMENDATIONS The Expert Panel continues to recommend ER testing of invasive breast cancers by validated immunohistochemistry as the standard for predicting which patients may benefit from endocrine therapy, and no other assays are recommended for this purpose. Breast cancer samples with 1% to 100% of tumor nuclei positive should be interpreted as ER positive. However, the Expert Panel acknowledges that there are limited data on endocrine therapy benefit for cancers with 1% to 10% of cells staining ER positive. Samples with these results should be reported using a new reporting category, ER Low Positive, with a recommended comment. A sample is considered ER negative if < 1% or 0% of tumor cell nuclei are immunoreactive. Additional strategies recommended to promote optimal performance, interpretation, and reporting of cases with an initial low to no ER staining result include establishing a laboratory-specific standard operating procedure describing additional steps used by the laboratory to confirm/adjudicate results. The status of controls should be reported for cases with 0% to 10% staining. Similar principles apply to PgR testing, which is used primarily for prognostic purposes in the setting of an ER-positive cancer. Testing of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) for ER is recommended to determine potential benefit of endocrine therapies to reduce risk of future breast cancer, while testing DCIS for PgR is considered optional. Additional information can be found at www.asco.org/breast-cancer-guidelines .

2020 ◽  
Vol 144 (5) ◽  
pp. 545-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly H. Allison ◽  
M. Elizabeth H. Hammond ◽  
Mitchell Dowsett ◽  
Shannon E. McKernin ◽  
Lisa A. Carey ◽  
...  

Purpose.— To update key recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) testing in breast cancer guideline. Methods.— A multidisciplinary international Expert Panel was convened to update the clinical practice guideline recommendations informed by a systematic review of the medical literature. Recommendations.— The Expert Panel continues to recommend ER testing of invasive breast cancers by validated immunohistochemistry as the standard for predicting which patients may benefit from endocrine therapy, and no other assays are recommended for this purpose. Breast cancer samples with 1% to 100% of tumor nuclei positive should be interpreted as ER positive. However, the Expert Panel acknowledges that there are limited data on endocrine therapy benefit for cancers with 1% to 10% of cells staining ER positive. Samples with these results should be reported using a new reporting category, ER Low Positive, with a recommended comment. A sample is considered ER negative if &lt; 1% or 0% of tumor cell nuclei are immunoreactive. Additional strategies recommended to promote optimal performance, interpretation, and reporting of cases with an initial low to no ER staining result include establishing a laboratory-specific standard operating procedure describing additional steps used by the laboratory to confirm/adjudicate results. The status of controls should be reported for cases with 0% to 10% staining. Similar principles apply to PgR testing, which is used primarily for prognostic purposes in the setting of an ER-positive cancer. Testing of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) for ER is recommended to determine potential benefit of endocrine therapies to reduce risk of future breast cancer, while testing DCIS for PgR is considered optional. Additional information can be found at www.asco.org/breast-cancer-guidelines.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (30) ◽  
pp. 7721-7735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojiang Cui ◽  
Rachel Schiff ◽  
Grazia Arpino ◽  
C. Kent Osborne ◽  
Adrian V. Lee

The response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer correlates with estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status. ER-positive/PR-negative breast cancers respond less well to selective ER modulator (SERM) therapy than ER-positive/PR-positive tumors. The predictive value of PR has long been attributed to the dependence of PR expression on ER activity, with the absence of PR reflecting a nonfunctional ER and resistance to hormonal therapy. However, recent clinical and laboratory evidence suggests that ER-positive/PR-negative breast cancers may be specifically resistant to SERMs, whereas they may be less resistant to estrogen withdrawal therapy with aromatase inhibitors, which is a result inconsistent with the nonfunctional ER theory. Novel alternative molecular mechanisms potentially explaining SERM resistance in ER-positive/PR-negative tumors have been suggested by recent experimental indications that growth factors may downregulate PR levels. Thus, the absence of PR may not simply indicate a lack of ER activity, but rather may reflect hyperactive cross talk between ER and growth factor signaling pathways that downregulate PR even as they activate other ER functions. Therefore, ER-positive/PR-negative breast tumors might best be treated by completely blocking ER action via estrogen withdrawal with aromatase inhibitors, by targeted ER degradation, or by combined therapy targeting both ER and growth factor signaling pathways. In this review, we will discuss the biology and etiology of ER-positive/PR-negative breast cancer, highlighting recent data on molecular cross talk between ER and growth factor signaling pathways and demonstrating how PR might be a useful marker of these activities. Finally, we will consider the clinical implications of these observations.


1987 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 1779-1782 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Berger ◽  
J L Mansi ◽  
P Wilson ◽  
R C Coombes

We devised a method of detecting estrogen receptors (ER) in bone marrow metastases from patients with breast cancer. The method involves a sequential double-staining immunocytochemical technique, with a monoclonal antibody to ER and a polyclonal antibody recognizing epithelial membrane antigen to confirm the epithelial nature of suspected tumor cells. Twenty-seven patients were assessed: ten were found to have ER-positive tumor cells in the bone marrow; ten had ER-negative cells; and the remaining seven patients had no tumor cells in the bone marrow smears. Of the ten patients with ER-positive cells, eight (80%) either had a response to endocrine therapy, implying that they possess ER-positive breast cancers, or had ER-positive primary tumors as determined by the dextran-coated charcoal biochemical assay (DCC). Of the ten patients with ER-negative cells in the bone marrow, eight failed to respond to endocrine therapy. This technique therefore provides a means of predicting which patients will respond to endocrine therapy, and is particularly important in those patients whose ER status is unknown.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 516-516
Author(s):  
John M. S. Bartlett ◽  
Kenneth J. Bloom ◽  
Tammy Robson ◽  
Thomas J. Lawton ◽  
Cornelis J. H. Van De Velde ◽  
...  

516 Background: Some postmenopausal patients with hormone sensitive early breast cancer remain at high risk of relapse despite endocrine therapy, and might benefit additionally from adjuvant chemotherapy. The challenge is to prospectively identify such patients. The Mammostrat test uses five immunohistochemical markers to stratify patients regarding recurrence risk, and may inform treatment decisions. We tested the efficacy of this panel in the TEAM trial. Methods: Pathology blocks from 4598 TEAM patients were collected and TMAs constructed. The cohort was 47% node positive and 36% were also treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Triplicate 0.6mm2 TMA cores were stained and positivity for p53, HTF9C, CEACAM5, NDRG1, SLC7A5 assessed. Cases were assigned a Mammostrat risk score, and distant relapse free (DRFS) and disease free survival (DFS) analysed. Results: In multivariate regression analyses, corrected for conventional clinicopathological markers, Mammostrat provided significant additional information on DRFS after endocrine therapy in ER positive node negative patients (N=1226) not receiving chemotherapy (p=0.004). Further analyses in all patients not exposed to chemotherapy, irrespective of nodal status (N=2559) and in the entire cohort (N=3837) showed Mammostrat scores provide additional information on DRFS in these groups (p=0.001 and p<0.0001 respectively; multivariate analyses). No differences were seen between the two endocrine treatment regimens. Conclusions: The Mammostrat score predicts DRFS for both exemestane and tamoxifen-exemestane treated patients irrespective of nodal status and chemotherapy. The ability of this test to provide additional outcome data following treatment provides further evidence for its’ utility in risk stratification of ER positive postmenopausal breast cancer patients.


2000 ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
K L Cheung ◽  
A Howell ◽  
J F Robertson

The preoperative use of systemic therapy for primary breast cancer has the potential to downstage tumours. This would render suitable for breast conservation some tumours that were unsuitable at initial presentation, or would convert some inoperable locally advanced breast cancers into tumours that are operable. No survival benefit has been demonstrated for neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared with the same therapy given in an adjuvant setting. Preoperative endocrine therapy, in contrast to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, has fewer side effects and has the potential additional advantage that it can be continued throughout the perioperative period. Current data have shown that, in patients with an oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumour, a response approaching 70% could be reached in approximately 3 months using traditional endocrine manipulation such as tamoxifen. Randomised clinical trials are warranted to demonstrate the superiority of preoperative endocrine therapy over conventional adjuvant endocrine therapy, to define the optimum duration of therapy, and to identify the best endocrine agents. Both clinical and laboratory studies are also required to identify factors (in addition to ER) that would precisely predict the response and hence to select appropriate patients and to improve existing methods of monitoring response.


2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 1973-1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie-Jeanne Bardou ◽  
Grazia Arpino ◽  
Richard M. Elledge ◽  
C. Kent Osborne ◽  
Gary M. Clark

Purpose: To determine whether progesterone receptor (PgR) status provides additional value to estrogen receptor (ER) status and improves prediction of benefit from endocrine treatment among patients with primary breast cancer. Patients and Methods: Clinical outcomes of patients in two large databases were analyzed as a function of steroid receptor status. The first database (PP), contained 3,739 patients who did not receive any systemic adjuvant therapy and 1,688 patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy but no chemotherapy. The second database (SPORE), contained 10,444 patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy but no chemotherapy. Biochemical ER and PgR assays were identically performed in two different central laboratories. Results: In univariate and multivariate analyses, the prognostic significance of PgR status among systemically untreated patients is modest. Among endocrine-treated patients, however, multivariate analyses, including lymph-node involvement, tumor size, and age, demonstrate that PgR status is independently associated with disease-free and overall survival. For recurrence, the reduction in relative risk (RR) was 25% for ER-positive/PgR-negative patients and 53% for ER-positive/PgR-positive patients, compared with ER-negative/PgR-negative patients (P < .0001, PP patients). Patients with ER-positive/PgR-negative tumors have a reduction in RR of death of 30% (SPORE patients) and 38% (PP patients), compared with patients with ER-negative/PgR-negative tumors (P < .0001). For ER-positive/PgR-positive tumors, the reduction of the risk of death was greater than 46% in SPORE patients and 58% in PP patients, indicating that ER-positive/PgR-positive patients derive more benefit from endocrine therapy (P < .0001). Conclusion: When accurately measured, PgR status is an independent predictive factor for benefit from adjuvant endocrine therapy. Therefore, PgR status should be taken into account when discussing RR reductions expected from endocrine treatment with individual patients.


Author(s):  
Nikki Aldi Massardi

Breast cancer is a hormone-dependent disease that relies on the mitogenic effect ofestrogen to increase tumorigenesis and tumor growth. Clinically significant levels ofestrogen-α receptor (ERα) expression are seen in 80% of human breast cancers,whereas progesterone receptor is expressed in 55% of human breast cancers. Thesedata are one of the bases for the development of endocrine therapy. Endocrinetherapy is therapy that targets the pathway and synthesis of estrogen, by blocking itvia receptors, reducing circulating levels of estrogen, or suppressing estrogensynthesis in the tissues of women diagnosed with breast cancer.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 5007
Author(s):  
Jee Hyun Ahn ◽  
Soon Bo Choi ◽  
Jung Min Park ◽  
Jee Ye Kim ◽  
Hyung Seok Park ◽  
...  

Hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer has a heterogeneous pattern according to the level of receptor expression. Patients whose breast cancers express low levels of estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PgR) may be eligible for adjuvant endocrine therapy, but limited data are available to support this notion. We aimed to determine whether HR expression level is related to prognosis. Tumors from 6042 patients with breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed for combined HR levels of ER and PgR. Low expression was defined as ER 1–10% and PgR 1–20%. Four HR groups were identified by combining ER and PgR expression levels. Patients whose tumors expressed high levels of a single receptor showed the worst survival outcomes, and their risk continuously increased even after the 10-year follow-up. Endocrine therapy had a significant benefit for patients whose tumors expressed high HR levels and a favorable tendency for patients with tumors expressing low HR levels. We established the possible benefit of endocrine therapy for patients whose breast tumors expressed low HR levels. Thus, HR level was a prognostic factor and might be a determinant of extended therapy, especially for patients with high expression of a single receptor.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1986
Author(s):  
Virginia Solar Fernandez ◽  
Marco Fiocchetti ◽  
Manuela Cipolletti ◽  
Marco Segatto ◽  
Paolo Cercola ◽  
...  

The expression of the α-subtype of Estrogen Receptor (ERα) characterizes most breast cancers (more than 75%), for which endocrine therapy is the mainstay for their treatment. However, a high percentage of ERα+ breast cancers are de novo or acquired resistance to endocrine therapy, and the definition of new targets for improving therapeutic interventions and the prediction of treatment response is demanding. Our previous data identified the ERα/AKT/neuroglobin (NGB) pathway as a common pro-survival process activated in different ERα breast cancer cell lines. However, no in vivo association between the globin and the malignity of breast cancer has yet been done. Here, we evaluated the levels and localization of NGB in ERα+ breast ductal carcinoma tissue of different grades derived from pre-and post-menopausal patients. The results indicate a strong association between NGB accumulation, ERα, AKT activation, and the G3 grade, while no association with the menopausal state has been evidenced. Analyses of the data set (e.g., GOBO) strengthen the idea that NGB accumulation could be linked to tumor cell aggressiveness (high grade) and resistance to treatment. These data support the view that NGB accumulation, mainly related to ER expression and tumor grade, represents a compensatory process, which allows cancer cells to survive in an unfavorable environment.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252822
Author(s):  
Takayuki Watanabe ◽  
Takaaki Oba ◽  
Keiji Tanimoto ◽  
Tomohiro Shibata ◽  
Shinobu Kamijo ◽  
...  

Sequential treatment with endocrine or chemotherapy is generally used in the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive recurrent breast cancer. To date, few studies have investigated the effect of long-term endocrine therapy on the response to subsequent chemotherapy in ER-positive breast cancer. We examined whether a preceding endocrine therapy affects the sensitivity to subsequent chemotherapy in ER-positive breast cancer cells. Three ER-positive breast cancer cell lines (T47D, MCF7, BT474) and tamoxifen-resistant sublines (T47D/T, MCF7/T, BT474/T) were analyzed for sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, and doxorubicin. The mRNA levels of factors related to drug sensitivity were analyzed by RT-PCR. MCF7/T cells became more sensitive to 5-fluorouracil than wild-type (wt)-MCF7 cells. In addition, the apoptosis induced by 5-fluorouracil was significantly increased in MCF7/T cells. However, no difference in sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents was observed in T47D/T and BT474/T cells compared with their wt cells. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) mRNA expression was significantly decreased in MCF7/T cells compared with wt-MCF7 cells. The expression of DPYD mRNA was restored with 5-azacytidine treatment in MCF7/T cells. In addition, DPYD 3′-UTR luciferase activity was significantly reduced in MCF7/T cells. These data indicated that the expression of DPYD mRNA was repressed by methylation of the DPYD promoter region and post-transcriptional regulation by miRNA in MCF7/T cells. In the mouse xenograft model, capecitabine significantly reduced the tumor volume in MCF7/T compared with MCF7. The results of this study indicate that endocrine therapy could alter the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in a subset of breast cancers, and 5-fluorouracil may be effective in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancers.


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