The simultaneous occurrence of cytoplasmic receptors for various steroid hormones in male breast carcinoma and gynaecomastia

Using a dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) technique, the cytoplasmic receptors for estradiol-17β, dihydrotestosterone-5α(DHT), progesterone and cortisol have been quantified in 14 cases of male gynaecomastia, and in two cases of male breast cancer. Estradiol-17β and progesterone receptors were found to be present in both cases of male breast cancer when the values of 3 fmol/mg protein and 0.03 fmol/μg DNA were chosen as the cutoff points between high and low binding capacity. In gynaecomastic tissue, the occurrence of steroid hormone receptors was the following: estradiol-17β 75%, DHT 73%, progesterone 14% and cortisol 100% of the cases tested. The pattern of estradiol-17β and progesterone receptors found in gynaecomastic specimens was similar to that observed in normal female breast and in fibroadenoma: however, the single and simultaneous occurrence of these receptors were lower in the male gynaecomastic group than in female cystic disease and breast cancer tissues.