Study On The Expression Of The Isoforms Of Estrogen Receptor In Epithelial Ovarian Tumors

Objective: To study the role of ER a and ER in epithelial ovarian tumors.Methods: Forty-five cases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma and 20 cases of benign epithelial ovarian tumor were studied which were admitted to the Fourth People's Hospital of Wuxi during January 1992 to June 2002. All patients didn't receive chemotherapy or hormone treatment before operation. ER a and ER were analysed using immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. The status of ER a and ER were compared to clinico-pathological characteristics of ovarian carcinoma.Results: ER a and ER protein were located in cellular nuclear. The positive expression rate of ER was 51.1% (23/45)of primary epithelial ovarian carcinoma which was similar to the benign ovarian tumor (55.0%). The positive expression rate of ER was 8.89%(4/45) of primary ovarian carcinoma which was significantly lower than that of benign tumor (50.0%). The positive expression rates of ER 3 were significantly lower than ER a in serous cystadenocarcinoma ,poorly differentiated and advanced stages carcinoma.Conclusion: The results show that ER a and ER are nuclear receptorsand downregulation of expression of ER and upregulation of ER a / ER may be a useful marker of epithelial ovarian carcinogenesis. ER could predict the prognosis for epithelial ovarian carcinoma.