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http://dx.doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2012.13.4.1111

The Estrogen Receptor Negative-Progesterone Receptor Positive Breast Carcinoma is a Biological Entity and not a Technical Artifact  

Ng, Char Hong (Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya)
Pathy, Nirmala Bhoo (Julius Center University of Malaya)
Taib, Nur Aishah (Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya)
Mun, Kein Seong (Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya)
Rhodes, Anthony (Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of England)
Yip, Cheng Har (Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya)
Publication Information
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention / v.13, no.4, 2012 , pp. 1111-1113 More about this Journal
Abstract
The ER-/PR+ breast tumor may be the result of a false ER negative result. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a difference in patient and tumor characteristics of the ER-/PR+ phenotype in an Asian setting. A total of 2629 breast cancer patients were categorized on the basis of their age, ethnicity, tumor hormonal receptor phenotype, grade and histological type. There were 1230 (46.8%) ER+/PR+, 306 (11.6%) ER+/PR-, 122 (4.6%) ER-/PR+ and 972 (37%) ER-/PR-. ER-/PR+ tumors were 2.5 times more likely to be younger than 50 years at diagnosis (OR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.72-3.67). Compared to ER+/PR+ tumors, the ER-/PR+ phenotype was twice more likely to be associated with grade 3 tumors (OR:2.02; 95%CI: 1.00-4.10). In contrast, compared to ER-/PR- tumors, the ER-/PR+ phenotype was 90% less likely to be associated with a grade 3 tumor (OR: 0.12; 95%CI:0.05-0.26), and more likely to have invasive lobular than invasive ductal histology (OR: 3.66; 95%CI: 1.47-9.11). These results show that the ER-/PR+ phenotype occurs in a younger age group and is associated with intermediate histopathological characteristics compared to ER+/PR+ and ER-/PR- tumors. This may imply that it is a distinct entity and not a technical artifact.
Keywords
Breast cancer; hormonal receptors; ER-PR+ subtype; biological entity;
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