The relationship between somatostatin, epidermal growth factor, and steroid hormone receptors in breast cancer.

The somatostatin (SS) and the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor content have been established in 36 primary breast cancers by receptor autoradiography on adjacent tissue sections. Iodine 125 (125I)-EGF was used as radioligand for EGF receptor visualization whereas an iodinated SS-28 analogue or an octapeptide SS analogue were used to measure SS receptors. Six of 36 tumors contained SS receptors, whereas ten of the 36 tumors were shown to contain EGF receptors. None of the tumor samples containing SS receptors were simultaneously EGF receptor positive. In contrast, all SS receptor-positive tumors simultaneously contained steroid receptors. The positive correlation between SS receptors and steroid receptors as well as the negative correlation between SS receptors and EGF receptors therefore suggest that the small percentage of SS receptor-positive breast tumors are a group of differentiated breast tumors with a good prognosis. In these cases, combined hormonetherapy including SS analogs may be of potential interest.