[Steroid hormone receptors and their relevance for the therapy of mammary cancers (author's transl)].

Estradiol receptors which are detectable in the cytoplasma of cells of human breast cancers can be used successfully for evaluating the hormone sensitivity of these tumours. Receptor negative cancers generally do not respond to endocrine therapeutical procedures whereas receptor positive cancers respond in 60% of cases. It is conceivable that this non sufficient correlation is caused by an impairment in the hormone receptor interaction, The simultaneous determination of estradiol and progesterone receptors in the tumour tissues increases the correlation between receptor status and hormone sensitivity to 80 percent. There exists a high degree of conformity between the receptor status of primary tumours and metastatic lymph nodes as well as recurrences.