A relationship between artifical menopause, previous estrogen consumption, and estrogen receptor content of breast neoplasms: preliminary communication.

A history of prior total bilateral oophorectomy and exogenous estrogen use was elicited from 45 women with breast surgery for cancer, 19 of whose neoplasms were estrogen receptor (ER) positive and 26 ER negative. In the ER-positive group there was a history of oophorectomy in 0/19 and estrogen use in 3/19. In the ER-negative group, corresponding values were 8/26 and 12/26 (p less than 0.05). Manipulation of the female hormonal milieu during or prior to the menopause may be related to the subsequent ER status of incident breast cancers.