Evaluation of the relationship between estrogen receptor immunohistochemical expression and Gleason score in prostate carcinoma

This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of estrogen receptors in prostate carcinoma cells in order to better understand the relationship between estrogen receptors in malignant cells and their pathological significance.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, tissue paraffin blocks of excised prostate samples taken from patients diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma and benign prostatic hyperplasia, considered as control, were studied. These patients referred to teaching hospitals of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. Clinical and demographic data of patients were extracted from hospital records. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using Anti ER monoclonal antibody.

Thirty prostate tissue specimens were found which included 20 specimens with prostate carcinoma and 10 specimens with benign hyperplasia. The mean age of patients was 69.65 yr. Estrogen receptor marker was expressed in only 25% of malignant samples. In contrast, 100% of benign samples showed ER marker expression. ER marker expression was significantly correlated with Gleason score (P =0.039).

Overall, the findings of this study indicate that the estrogen receptor is decreased in prostate malignancies and is more pronounced only in higher grade tumors.