Hormone receptor expression profiles differ between primary and recurrent high-grade serous ovarian cancers

Hormone receptor status assessment is necessary for selecting cancer patients who might potentially benefit from endocrine therapy. To determine whether hormone receptor status changes during tumor progression, we retrospectively examined 107 high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) patients with paired primary and recurrent tumor specimens. Hormone receptor expression discordance rates between primary and recurrent tumors were as follows: estrogen receptor (ER) 34.9%, progesterone receptor (PR) 12.4%, androgen receptor (AR) 41.7%, follicle stimulating hormone receptor 46.6%, luteinizing hormone receptor 50.5%, and gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor 20.0%. Hormone receptor discordance was not associated with patient survival. The proportion of the PR-ER+AR-subgroup, which exhibited the worst prognosis, was higher in recurrent than primary tumor specimens. Our study demonstrated that paired primary and recurrent HGSC specimens exhibit differing hormone receptor profiles. Thus, to most effectively identify patient-specific therapies, biomarker status re-assessment is required for recurrent patients.