Estrogen and progesterone receptors in lymphangioleiomyomatosis, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, and sclerosing hemangioma of the lung.

The therapeutic options in the treatment of lung neoplasia usually have not included hormonal therapy, unlike those for primary tumors of other sites (e.g., breast). However, two mesenchymal proliferations of lung, lymphangioleiomyomatosis and epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), and one epithelial tumor, sclerosing hemangioma (SH), have a significant female predilection and may benefit from such hormonal therapy. The authors investigated five cases each of EHE and lymphangioleiomyomatosis and four cases of SH for expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and 17-beta estradiol in paraffin-embedded tissue. Only one case each of lymphangioleiomyomatosis and EHE expressed 17-beta estradiol. All of the other cases were negative. These findings are contrary to the viewpoint held in published literature, especially in case reports of lymphangioleiomyomatosis, describing patients with positive estrogen and progesterone receptor results. Consequently, a number of issues must be considered in the clinical and immunohistochemical evaluation of the estrogen and progesterone receptor status of these rare pulmonary neoplasms.