Estrogen and progesterone hormone receptor status in pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women with invasive ductal carcinoma in a private tertiary hospital in Cebu City, Philippines: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE@#This study was conducted to determine the difference of hormone receptor status between pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in the local setting. @*METHODS@#This retrospective descriptive study used data gathered from chart review of premenopausal and postmenopausal female patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma by tissue biopsy and underwent determination of hormone receptor status (estrogen and progesterone receptor) by immunohistochemical staining (ICA) using biopsy samples taken from June 2016 to December 2019 at Cebu Velez General Hospital, Cebu City. The significance of the difference in the hormone receptor status with menopausal status was analyzed using Fisher’s exact test.@*RESULTS@#Comparing the two groups, 25 (60%) of the pre-menopausal women and 37 (73%) of the post-menopausal women were determined as hormone sensitive, while 17 (40%) pre-menopausal women and 14 (27%) post-menopausal women were hormone resistant. The Fisher’s exact test did not detect a statistically significant difference in the hormone receptor status of pre-menopausal and post-menopausal breast cancer patients.@*CONCLUSION@#There is no significant difference on the hormonal receptor status among pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. Thus, the need for hormone receptor status determination in these patients should be emphasized to aid in proper diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment planning.

Adult-onset cystic hygroma in the axilla in a 44-year old female: A case report

@#This is a case of a 44- year old female presenting with an 18cm x 17cm soft, movable, non-tender mass at the right axilla extending to the lateral aspect of the right breast. Computerized tomographic scan of the chest revealed a lobulated, multi-septated hypodense mass. The patient underwent excision of the right axillary mass and final histopathology revealed cystic lymphangioma. Adult-onset cystic hygroma of the axilla is a rare case, with less than 10 studies documented in PubMed. Total surgical excision remains to be its primary treatment.