Correlation of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor expression in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women. It accounts for 22% of all female cancers; more than twice the prevalence of cancer in women at any other site. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is now the globally accepted methodology for detection of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors in breast carcinomas. The present study is designed for further insight into age and biology of ER and PR expression pattern in breast cancer patient of Bihar, India. Samples were obtained from biopsy and analyzed for ER/PR expression through Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Data were collected and statistically analyzed. It was observed that mean age of ER+ positive breast cancer patients were 47 years, while mean age of PR positive patient were 44 years. Two third patients had either ER or PR is positive while one third had both negative. In our study we observed 6.4 % patients with ER negative and PR positive. Thus it is concluded that two third of breast cancer patients was positive for hormone receptor. ER/PR positive indicates over-expression of estrogen and progesterone in carcinoma breast. ER negative and PR positive group was also observed in significant number of breast cancer patients. ER negative were observed in early age group of breast cancer while PR negative were observed in higher age group patients.