Androgen receptor status in nontumoral and malignant human colorectal tissues.

Data on androgen receptor (AR) status of nontumoral and malignant human colorectal tissues are compared using ligand binding assay in 22 patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer at the "M. Ascoli" Cancer Hospital Centre in Palermo, Sicily. In nontumoral tissues, ARs were predominantly (67%) positive, with 25% of cases having a 0/+ status. Conversely, malignant tissues showed only 32% of cases with a positive (+/+) AR status, with a proportional increase of 0/+ cases (from 25% to 55%); the extent of AR-negative (0/0) cases remained fairly constant (8-9%). Overall, our evidence indicates that nontumoral colorectal tissues have a predominantly positive (+/+) AR status and that this condition shifts towards a significant decrease of AR-positive cases in cancer tissues. Studies on the relation between status of sex steroid receptors and specific biomolecular markers in human colorectal tumors are currently being carried out in our laboratories.