Analysis on the causes of estrogen receptor-negative and progesterone receptor-positive breast cancer / 中华内分泌外科杂志

ABSTRACT

The pathological subtypes of breast cancer can be further divided into different molecular subtypes based on their immunohistochemical staining, such as estrogen receptor (ER) , progesterone receptor (PR) , human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2) and Ki67 expression, including luminal subtype, HER2 overexpression subtype and triple negative subtype. The luminal subtype is defined as ER and/or PR positive. In molecular mechanism, the expression activity of ER can regulate the expression of PR, so the expression of ER and PR is usually consistent. However, in the process of detection, some breast cancers with inconsistent ER/PR expression often appear, especially those with ER (-) /PR (+) . There is still controversy about whether such cases are true. Patients with this type of breast cancer should be subjected to ER and PR immunohistochemical staining again, and then reclassified according to HER2 status. The expression of ER/PR is closely related to the efficacy of endocrine therapy for breast cancer, so its test results will directly affect the treatment options of clinician. This article will review and discuss the research progress of the causes and mechanisms of ER (-) /PR (+) breast cancer.