Expressions of estrogen and progesterone receptors in epithelial ovarian cancer: a clinicopathologic study.

Although estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors are well recognized as important prognostic indicators of breast and endometrial cancers, their clinical significance in epithelial ovarian cancer is not clear with the limited data from only few immunohistochemical studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expressions of ER and PR in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer who were treated in our institution during the period 1996 to 2003. Their associations with clinicopathologic factors of age, stage, histologic subtypes, and grade and their prognostic role to survivals were also examined. Among 106 subjects included in the study, ER and PR expressions were found in 39.6% and 33.0%, respectively, with the corresponding highest expression in serous and endometrioid carcinomas. Estrogen receptor expression had a significant association with age older than 60 years, non-clear cell carcinomas, and high-grade tumors, whereas PR expression showed a significant association with non-clear cell carcinomas and a better response to first-line chemotherapy. Progesterone receptor expression was a favorable prognostic factor to both progression-free and overall survivals from univariable but not multivariable analyses. Expression of ER or any combination of ER/PR subgroups did not have a significant impact on survivals.