Estrogen and progesterone receptor manipulations in castrated rat uterus models and the clinical adaptation

To investigate the influence of tamoxifen, danazol and triptorelin (a GnRH agonist) on estrogen and progesterone receptors of rat endometrium, 44 castrated Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four equal groups, and each group received either no treatment or one of the agents. After administration of the agents, estrogen and progesterone receptor levels, detected by immunohistochemical methods, were compared with the controls. Estrogen and progesterone receptors were significantly higher in the tamoxifen group than the controls (p<0.05), but this was not noticed in the triptorelin group (p>0.05). Receptor levels were higher in the danazol group than the controls, but it was significant only in the estrogen receptors. Among the 3 groups, receptor levels were higher than in the control group. There was not any correlation among the estrogen and progesterone receptor levels in all groups. Steroid receptor manipulations can be used in the treatment of gynecologic cancer, but further investigations are needed.