Skip to main content
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1989 Sep;42(9):902–905. doi: 10.1136/jcp.42.9.902

Oestrogen receptors in mucinous carcinoma of the breast: an immunohistological study using paraffin wax sections.

S Shousha 1, A T Coady 1, T Stamp 1, K R James 1, J Alaghband-Zadeh 1
PMCID: PMC501785  PMID: 2551929

Abstract

An immunohistological method (Shintaku-Said method) for the demonstration of oestrogen receptors in routinely processed paraffin wax embedded tissue was applied to 19 cases of mucinous carcinoma of the breast. Seventeen (89%) tumours showed variable degrees of positivity and two were negative. In eight cases the receptors were also assayed biochemically using a dextran-coated charcoal method, and the results of the two methods showed good correlation. No difference in the distribution of positive and negative cases was noted between pure and mixed mucinous tumours, and in the latter group the pattern of staining of the mucinous elements was similar to that seen in the solid elements. It is concluded that the major advantage of this method is its ability to offer for study the distribution of the receptors in individual cells and specific histological structures. The results also indicate that most mucinous carcinomas of the breast are oestrogen receptor positive, irrespective of whether they are pure or mixed type.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Capella C., Eusebi V., Mann B., Azzopardi J. G. Endocrine differentiation in mucoid carcinoma of the breast. Histopathology. 1980 Nov;4(6):613–630. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.1980.tb02957.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Charpin C., Martin P. M., De Victor B., Lavaut M. N., Habib M. C., Andrac L., Toga M. Multiparametric study (SAMBA 200) of estrogen receptor immunocytochemical assay in 400 human breast carcinomas: analysis of estrogen receptor distribution heterogeneity in tissues and correlations with dextran coated charcoal assays and morphological data. Cancer Res. 1988 Mar 15;48(6):1578–1586. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. De Rosa C. M., Ozzello L., Greene G. L., Habif D. V. Immunostaining of estrogen receptor in paraffin sections of breast carcinomas using monoclonal antibody D75P3 gamma: effects of fixation. Am J Surg Pathol. 1987 Dec;11(12):943–950. doi: 10.1097/00000478-198712000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ferguson D. J., Anderson T. J., Wells C. A., Battersby S. An ultrastructural study of mucoid carcinoma of the breast: variability of cytoplasmic features. Histopathology. 1986 Dec;10(12):1219–1230. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.1986.tb02566.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fisher E. R., Gregorio R. M., Fisher B., Redmond C., Vellios F., Sommers S. C. The pathology of invasive breast cancer. A syllabus derived from findings of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project (protocol no. 4). Cancer. 1975 Jul;36(1):1–85. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197507)36:1<1::aid-cncr2820360102>3.0.co;2-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hoie J., Stenwig A. E., Kullmann G., Lindegaard M. Distant metastases in papillary thyroid cancer. A review of 91 patients. Cancer. 1988 Jan 1;61(1):1–6. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19880101)61:1<1::aid-cncr2820610102>3.0.co;2-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Howat J. M., Barnes D. M., Harris M., Swindell R. The association of cytosol oestrogen and progesterone receptors with histological features of breast cancer and early recurrence of disease. Br J Cancer. 1983 May;47(5):629–640. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1983.101. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Komaki K., Sakamoto G., Sugano H., Morimoto T., Monden Y. Mucinous carcinoma of the breast in Japan. A prognostic analysis based on morphologic features. Cancer. 1988 Mar 1;61(5):989–996. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19880301)61:5<989::aid-cncr2820610522>3.0.co;2-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lesser M. L., Rosen P. P., Senie R. T., Duthie K., Menendez-Botet C., Schwartz M. K. Estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast carcinoma: correlations with epidemiology and pathology. Cancer. 1981 Jul 15;48(2):299–309. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19810715)48:2<299::aid-cncr2820480215>3.0.co;2-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Millis R. R. Correlation of hormone receptors with pathological features in human breast cancer. Cancer. 1980 Dec 15;46(12 Suppl):2869–2871. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19801215)46:12+<2869::aid-cncr2820461426>3.0.co;2-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. NORRIS H. J., TAYLOR H. B. PROGNOSIS OF MUCINOUS (GELATINOUS) CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST. Cancer. 1965 Jul;18:879–885. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(196507)18:7<879::aid-cncr2820180716>3.0.co;2-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rosen P. P., Menendez-Botet C. J., Nisselbaum J. S., Urban J. A., Miké V., Fracchia A., Schwartz M. K. Pathological review of breast lesions analyzed for estrogen receptor protein. Cancer Res. 1975 Nov;35(11 Pt 1):3187–3194. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shintaku I. P., Said J. W. Detection of estrogen receptors with monoclonal antibodies in routinely processed formalin-fixed paraffin sections of breast carcinoma. Use of DNase pretreatment to enhance sensitivity of the reaction. Am J Clin Pathol. 1987 Feb;87(2):161–167. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/87.2.161. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shousha S., Backhous C. M., Alaghband-Zadeh J., Burn I. Alveolar variant of invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. A tumor rich in estrogen receptors. Am J Clin Pathol. 1986 Jan;85(1):1–5. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/85.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Silfverswärd C., Gustafsson J. A., Gustafsson S. A., Humla S., Nordenskjöld B., Wallgren A., Wrange O. Estrogen receptor concentrations in 269 cases of histologically classified human breast cancer. Cancer. 1980 Apr 15;45(8):2001–2005. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19800415)45:8<2001::aid-cncr2820450803>3.0.co;2-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Toikkanen S., Eerola E., Ekfors T. O. Pure and mixed mucinous breast carcinomas: DNA stemline and prognosis. J Clin Pathol. 1988 Mar;41(3):300–303. doi: 10.1136/jcp.41.3.300. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES