Concordant Expression of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors in Primary and Loco-regional Recurrent Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: Malignant neoplastic lesions of the breast are one of the main causes of cancer death among women. Several factors can be influential in the treatment process of breast cancer patients. The expression status of estrogen and progesterone receptors in tumor cells is among the most important determinants affecting the treatment approach and prognosis of these patients. In this paper, we will evaluate changes in the expression of these biomarkers between primary and loco-regional recurrent tumors in breast cancer patients.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 50 female patients aged 30 to 85 years old who underwent surgical intervention between 1994 and 2011. All experienced loco-regional recurrence of the primary tumor between 6 months and 12 years after the first therapeutic intervention. Detection of estrogen and progesterone receptors was based on the immunohistochemistry staining of tissue samples of malignant neoplastic lesions prepared from tissue biopsies of patients with primary or recurrent breast cancer.Results: No statistically significant change in the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors between primary tumors and their matching loco- regional were seen (P>0.05).Conclusion: This research shows no significant changes in estrogen and progesterone receptor expression after loco-regional recurrence of tumors in breast cancer patients. It can be concluded that the assessment of the expression of these biomarkers in primary tumors provides reliable information for the treatment approach of loco-regional tumors.