Hawkins R A, Tesdale A L, Anderson E D, Levack P A, Chetty U, Forrest A P
University Department of Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edingburgh, UK.
Br J Cancer. 1990 Jun;61(6):877-80. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1990.196.
The effect of systemic therapy on tumour oestrogen receptor (ER) concentration has been studied in 88 patients with large, operable, primary tumours (total 89) of the breast. In 26 patients, tumour was not available for study on one occasion (usually post-treatment). Forty-five patients were treated initially by endocrine therapy but, of these, 13 who had failed to respond went on to receive chemotherapy also. Seventeen patients with low concentrations of ER (less than 20 fmol mg-1 protein) were treated directly by chemotherapy. Patients underwent an incisional biopsy for confirmation of diagnosis and determination of pre-treatment ER by radioligand binding assay, followed by systemic therapy for 3 months (or 6 months for both endocrine and cytotoxic therapies). Response was assessed clinically and mammographically before mastectomy. ER concentration was then determined in the post-treatment tumour specimen. No significant change in ER concentration was seen in any treatment group except when the patients had received tamoxifen; there, receptor concentration fell to very low levels, presumably due to interference with the assay. There was no relationship between tumour response to systemic treatment and change in ER concentration. It is concluded that changes in ER concentration are unlikely to play a major role in the early response of breast tumours to systemic therapy.
对88例患有大型可手术原发性乳腺癌（共89个肿瘤）的患者研究了全身治疗对肿瘤雌激素受体（ER）浓度的影响。26例患者有一次无法获取肿瘤样本进行研究（通常是在治疗后）。45例患者最初接受内分泌治疗，但其中13例治疗无效后也接受了化疗。17例ER浓度低（低于20 fmol mg-1蛋白质）的患者直接接受化疗。患者接受切开活检以确诊并通过放射性配体结合测定法测定治疗前的ER，然后进行3个月的全身治疗（内分泌和细胞毒性治疗均为6个月）。在乳房切除术前行临床和乳房X线检查评估反应。然后在治疗后的肿瘤标本中测定ER浓度。除了接受他莫昔芬治疗的患者外，任何治疗组的ER浓度均无显著变化；在接受他莫昔芬治疗的患者中，受体浓度降至极低水平，可能是由于对检测的干扰。肿瘤对全身治疗的反应与ER浓度的变化之间没有关系。结论是，ER浓度的变化不太可能在乳腺肿瘤对全身治疗的早期反应中起主要作用。
