Progesterone receptor

Specific staining occurs in the nucleus. Cytoplasmic staining should be ignored.

Immunohistochemical expression

• normal vulval skin1

• vulval fibroepithelial polyps1

• vulval smooth muscle tumours1

• vulval nerve sheath tumours1

• vulval and vaginal angiomyofibroblastoma1

• aggressive angiomyxoma of pelvic parts1

• endometrial stromal sarcoma

• thymomas

• some lung carcinomas: the published literature is contradictory. Some early studies were biochemical examination of cytosol: 3/215, 2/156, 6/197.

• Apocrine carcinomas of the breast are commonly positive for androgen receptors but negative for oestrogen receptors and progesterone receptors.

Diagnostic utility

• Identification of adenocarcinoma as arising from breast or female genital tract, in combination with PR and various other markers.

• Identification of those breast carcinomas which are likely to respond to hormone therapy.

• Differentiation of endocervical from endometrial adenocarcinoma.

References

1McCluggage WG, Patterson A, Axwell P. Aggressive angiomyxoma of pelvic parts exhibits oestrogen and progesterone receptor positivity. J Clin Pathol 2000;53:603-605.

2Lee, B. H., J. L. Hecht, et al. (2002). "WT1, estrogen receptor, and progesterone receptor as markers for breast or ovarian primary sites in metastatic adenocarcinoma to body fluids." Am J Clin Pathol 117(5): 745-50.

3Kaufmann, O., T. Deidesheimer, et al. (1996). "Immunohistochemical differentiation of metastatic breast carcinomas from metastatic adenocarcinomas of other common primary sites." Histopathology 29(3): 233-40.

4Di Nunno, L., L. G. Larsson, et al. (2000). "Estrogen and progesterone receptors in non-small cell lung cancer in 248 consecutive patients who underwent surgical resection." Arch Pathol Lab Med 124(10): 1467-70.

5Chaudhuri PK, Thomas PA, Walker MJ, Briele HA, Das Gupta TK, Beattie CW. Steroid receptors in human lung cancer cytosols. Cancer Lett 1982;16:327–332.

6Beattie, C. W., N. W. Hansen, et al. (1985). "Steroid receptors in human lung cancer." Cancer Res 45(9): 4206-14.

7Cagle, P. T., D. R. Mody, et al. (1990). "Estrogen and progesterone receptors in bronchogenic carcinoma." Cancer Res 50(20): 6632-5.

8Su JM. Hsu HK. Chang H. Lin SL. Chang HC. Huang MS. Tseng HH. Expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors in non-small-cell lung cancer: immunohistochemical study. Anticancer Research 1996;16:3803-6.

9Canver, C. C., V. A. Memoli, et al. (1994). "Sex hormone receptors in non-small-cell lung cancer in human beings." J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 108(1): 153-7.

10Kaufmann, O., S. Kother, et al. (1998). "Use of antibodies against estrogen and progesterone receptors to identify metastatic breast and ovarian carcinomas by conventional immunohistochemical and tyramide signal amplification methods." Mod Pathol 11(4): 357-63.

©SMUHT/PW Bishop