PROGESTERONE-RECEPTOR LEVELS INDEPENDENTLY PREDICT SURVIVAL IN ENDOMETRIAL ADENOCARCINOMA

Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) contents were determined by biochemical (dextran charcoal-coated (DCC) assay) and immunohistochemical (ICA) methods in biopsies from 145 primary endometrial adenocarcinomas and those with eligible receptor measurements were analyzed with respect to correlations to cancer-specific survival in a multivariate analysis including histopathological characteristics. Median patient follow-up time was 67 months with 18 cancer deaths, The PR-DCC and ER-DCC values were dichotomized according to levels previously found by us to correspond to the best agreement between receptor status as determined by the DCC and ICA methods (130 fmol/mg cytosol protein for ER, 114 fmol/mg for PR), Using these thresholds, we found by multivariate analysis that ''high'' PR-DCC levels (>114 fmol/mg) correlated significantly (P = 0.004) with survival, independent of stage risk group (Ia + b vs Ic-IV), Patient age and histologic grade were prognostic factors in a univariate setting, but these parameters were eliminated in the multivariate model, While the PR-ICA scores also correlated significantly and independently with survival, the predictive effect of PR-ICA positivity alone could not be statistically evaluated due to the number of cases with eligible ICA values, However, we suggest that owing to a close correlation between DCC and ICA results, PR-ICA status may provide significant prognostic information when DCC measurements are not available. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.