Immunocytochemical analysis of estrogen receptors as a predictor of prognosis in breast cancer patients: comparison with quantitative biochemical methods.

Biochemical quantitation of estrogen receptors has been used to predict prognosis in breast cancer. Immunocytochemical analysis of estrogen receptors correlates with biochemical analysis but has very few follow-up studies in the literature to validate it as a prognostic indicator. 257 patients were followed for up to 10 years (median, 6.2 years) after primary surgical treatment. Estrogen receptor analysis using both biochemical and immunocytochemical techniques was performed on their tumor specimens. Patients with positive estrogen receptor values had longer survival than patients with negative values. This was demonstrated by both methods in the first 5 years of follow-up but only by immunochemistry after 5 years. The relationship between estrogen receptor status and disease-free interval was less strong than with survival. This study demonstrates that immunocytochemical estrogen receptor analysis was of prognostic significance.

Decreased calcium pump adenosine triphosphatase in red blood cells of hypertensive subjects.

Several operationally defined adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities were determined in vitro in red blood cell lysates of normotensive or hypertensive humans: Mg2+-ATPase, Na+,K+-ATPase, and Ca2+ pump ATPase, the latter in the calmodulin-activated and basal states. Basal Ca2+ pump ATPase was defined as the Ca2+-activated ATPase resistant to 10(-4) M trifluoperazine. Subjects were part of a double-blind study in which treatment was divided into several phases: baseline (4 weeks), placebo or calcium (1 g elemental calcium/day, 8 weeks), placebo washout (4 weeks), placebo or calcium (1 g elemental calcium/day, 8 weeks). Irrespective of the phase of treatment, the basal Ca2+ pump ATPase activity in red blood cell lysates of 36 hypertensive subjects was significantly less than that in lysates from 18 normotensive subjects. Other ATPase activities did not differ significantly, although all ATPases tended to be decreased in hypertension. The data are consistent with previous reports of altered membrane Ca2+ binding and transport in hypertension, but the precise changes are not elucidated.

Long-term prognostic implications of sex-steroid receptors in human cancer.

Progesterone receptor analysis has been used to enhance the prognostic usefulness of estrogen receptor analysis in breast cancer. Immunocytochemical assays for both steroid receptors have been shown to correlate with established biochemical techniques but lack long term clinical follow-up studies to validate their use. One hundred fifty- two patients were followed for up to 10 years after primary surgical treatment. Steroid receptor analyses, using both biochemical and immunocytochemical techniques were performed on their tumor specimens. Patients with estrogen or progesterone receptor positive tumors had longer survival than patients with negative tumors. This difference was most clearly demonstrated with immunocytochemical analysis of estrogen receptors (p = 0.04). The two methods for progesterone receptors gave very similar results. Use of multivariate analysis revealed that ER by immunocytochemical analysis was the only significant predictor of prognosis when all four variables were considered simultaneously (p = 0.04). This study suggests that immunocytochemistry gives comparable results to biochemical analysis for progesterone receptors but that immunocytochemical analysis of estrogen receptors was the stronger single prognostic indicator of the four.