Oestrogen and progesterone cytosolic receptors in clinically inflammatory tumours of the human breast.

Oestrogen (RE) and progesterone (RP) cytosolic receptors have been studied in 59 clinically inflammatory tumours of the human breast. The results were compared to those obtained in a series of 496 operable tumours. A single saturating dose of oestradiol for RE and R 5020 for RP was used and the cut-off between negative and positive tumours was 100 fmol/g tissue. A significant difference was seen (P less than 0.02) between the 2 classes of patients: (RE-, RP-) tumours were commoner among clinically inflammatory tumours (48%) than among operable ones (28%), independently of menopause. Concerning the histological type (based on an assessment of differentiation) and the histological grading (Scarff and Bloom) there was a significant difference (P less than 0.001) between the 2 populations of tumours. No significant difference was found in the distribution of RE and RP among the 3 histological types, whereas a significant correlation existed between histological grading and RE (P less than 0.02). Finally, patients with RE+ clinically inflammatory tumours constitute a lower risk group, especially when they are free of metastases at the time of diagnosis. The presence of RE therefore seems to indicate, as in the operable tumour group, a favourable prognosis.