Estrogen receptor assay in primary breast cancer and early recurrence of the disease.

Estrogen receptor assays of primary breast tumors have been related to early recurrence of the disease. A significantly longer disease-free interval was found in women whose primary tumor was estrogen receptor positive. Although there was no relationship of receptor content to stage of disease at mastectomy, the greatest difference between recurrence rates was found when the tumor had spread to the lymph nodes, especially to those in the apex of the axilla or in the internal mammary chain. Presence of estrogen receptor is closely related to histologically well-differentiated tumors, but it was found that poorly differentiated estrogen receptor-negative tumors recurred earlier than poorly differentiated receptor-positive tumors and had a very unfavorable prognosis.