Prognostic value of steroid receptor determination in leukemia.

Determinations of steroid receptors have been used to predict steroid sensitivity in various neoplastic tumors. It appears, however, that simple steroid binding measurements are not sufficient for that purpose in lymphoid tumors. This conclusion is based on a literature survey showing, first, that numerous factors are capable of modulating cellular steroid receptor content; second, that the results of steroid receptor determinations are critically dependent on experimental procedures; and, third, that the correlation between steroid receptor content and sensitivity is not obligatory in animal or human leukemic cells.