ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the specificity of the interaction between estrogen-bovine serum albumin fluorescein isothiocyanate (O-BSA-FITC) complex and thin sections of mammary tumors. It also discusses the correlation between morphological features of the mammary tumors and the presence of estrogen receptors assayed biochemically and the correlation between histochemical method and biochemical assay. Biochemically, three types of estrogen binding may be demonstrated in mammary tumors which are designated type I, type II, and type III. These three estrogen binding entities become saturated with increasing estradiol concentrations in the incubation medium. The charcoal method was applied for the detection of estrogen receptor activity. In several studies a significant correlation has been found between the presence of estrogen receptors and histological parameters of primary breast cancer. In general, it appeared that estrogen receptor positive tumors demonstrate a lower histologic grade, a higher nuclear grade, and a higher elastosis grade.
