Correlation of estrogen receptor levels with histology and cytomorphology in human mammary cancer

Histologic and cytomorphologic features of mammary carcinoma have been correlated with estrogen receptor (ER) levels determined by the dextran-coated charcoal (Scatchard) analysis in 51 primary mammary carcinomas. The results were expressed as follows: ER-positive above and ER-negative below 10 fmol/mg protein and ER-rich above and ER-poor below 250 fmol/g tissue for premenopausal patients (750 fmol for postmenopausal patients). Most lobular carcinomas were ER-positive and ER-rich (84.6%). A similarly high percentage (88.9%) of ER-positive and ER-rich determinations was seen in ductal carcinomas with tubular features, whereas only about half of the remaining ductal tumors were ER-positive or ER-rich. The highest ER values were obtained in the lobular carcinomas and in ductal carcinomas with tubular features. Three cytomorphologic indices independent of variation in tumor histology showed a strong correlation with ER values: maximal epithelial cellularity of the tumor (P less than 0.001); cellular size (P less than 0.05); nuclear size (P less than 0.05).