Prognostic importance of progesterone and estrogen receptors in cancer of the uterine cervix

Tissue levels of cytosolic estrogen receptors (ER(c)) and progesterone receptors (PR(c)) have been shown to have prognostic meaning in hormonally responsive cancers arising in the breast and endometrium. Although carcinomas of the uterine cervix rarely respond to hormonal manipulation, the normal cervical stroma and epithelia contain ER(c) and PR(c). To study the prognostic value of these receptors, 65 cervical carcinomas for ER(c) and PR(c) were assayed before initiation of surgical or radiation therapy. In premenopausal women, logistic models demonstrated that clinical stage, surgical stage, and receptor level independently predict survival. If confirmed in further studies, ER(c) and PR(c) may prove to be useful prognostic factors in the management of cervical carcinomas.