Analysis of cytosol CA15-3, carcinoembryonic antigen, estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast cancer tissues.

Cytosol levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA15-3, estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) of 194 primary breast cancer tissues were measured. ER and PgR determined by enzyme immunoassay methods correlated inversely with Page's grades of histological atypia and mitotic rate. Cytosol CA15-3 correlated inversely with the grades of tubular and nuclear atypia and positively with the mitotic rate. CA15-3 correlated positively with ER and PgR. Cytosol CEA showed no correlation with the pathological grade or hormone receptor status. These results indicate that hormone receptor-positive breast cancers tend to have more differentiated morphology and slower growth rate than those without those receptors and that the cytosol CA15-3 level may reflect some of the intrinsic malignant potency, particularly the growth rate, of breast cancer. Cytosol CA15-3 as well as the hormone receptor status may have prognostic value for patients with breast cancer.