Open AccessRelation between Estrogen Receptor and Malignancy of Thyroid Cancer
Author(s) -
Takeichi Nobuo,
Ito Hisao,
Haruta Rumi,
Matsuyama Toshiya,
Dohi Kiyohiko,
Eiichi Eiichi
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
japanese journal of cancer research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.035
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1349-7006
pISSN - 0910-5050
DOI - 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1991.tb01739.x
Subject(s) - malignancy , estrogen , estrogen receptor , medicine , thyroid cancer , thyroid , cancer , endocrinology , cancer research , breast cancer , pathology
The relationship between the histological grade of dedifferentiation of thyroid cancer and estrogen receptors (ER) was examined immunohistochemically. Thyroid cancers were from postmenopausal females of almost the same mean age (69‐73 years old) and within the same period of time (1974–1983). ER immunoreactivity located in the nucleus of the epithelium was found in all 6 well differentiated papillary cancers, and 5 of them (83.3%) showed ER‐immunoreactive (ER‐IR) cells amounting to 20 or more per visual field (x 100) under a light microscope. Of the 6 cases of poorly differentiated papillary cancer, 5 (83.3%) had 1‐19 ER‐IR cells per visual field. ER‐IR cells were negative in 5 out of 6 cases (83.3%) of anaplastic cancers. Thus, the number of ER‐IR cells tended to decrease with the degree of atypism of thyroid cancer (P < 0.001).