Hormone Receptor Status
Note: this site is for informational purposes only. To view test results or book a test, use the NHS app in England or contact your GP.
The hormone receptor status test measures the presence of oestrogen and progesterone receptors in cancer cells using a sample of tumour tissue obtained during a biopsy or surgery. It is used to help diagnose and classify breast cancer and to guide treatment decisions by determining whether the cancer is hormone-responsive.
Why get tested?
To determine whether a breast cancer tumour is positive for oestrogen and/or progesterone receptors, which helps to guide treatment and determine prognosis
When to get tested?
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and your doctor wants to determine whether the tumour’s growth is influenced by the hormones oestrogen and/or progesterone.
Sample required?
A sample of breast cancer tissue obtained during a biopsy or a tumour removed surgically during a lumpectomy or mastectomy.
Test preparation needed?
None
Common questions
Hormone receptor status is used as a prognostic marker. Those with ER- and PR-positive tumours tend to have a better prognosis than those with ER- or PR-negative tumours.
The hormone receptor status test is also used to help determine treatment options, including endocrine therapy (anti-hormone treatments, such as tamoxifen), when a primary tumour has been removed or to help guide treatment decisions when a tumour recurs.
Hormone receptor status testing is recommended as part of an initial workup of invasive breast cancer. It is not diagnostic but helps the doctor to decide what the treatment options are and to help understand more about the tumour’s characteristics.
In general, if a patient’s cancer is ER- and PR-positive, the patient will have a better-than-average prognosis, and their cancer is likely to respond to endocrine therapy (anti-hormone treatments). The more receptors present and the more intense their reaction, the more likely the tumour is to respond to anti-hormone treatment. However, an individual’s response depends on a variety of factors.
If a patient’s cancer is ER-negative but PR-positive, the patient may still benefit from endocrine therapy but may have a diminished response.
If the cancer is both ER- and PR-negative, then the patient will probably not benefit from endocrine therapy.
Her‑2/neu testing may be done at the same time as hormone receptor status testing. A patient with a positive oestrogen and/or progesterone receptor status may find their response to endocrine therapy diminished if they are also Her‑2/neu-positive. Her‑2 positive tumours can be treated with a different treatment, trastuzumab (Herceptin®).
Hormone receptor status testing is not available in every laboratory, samples may have to be sent to specialist centres for analysis and interpretation.
No. The cancer cells do not “shed” the receptors, so they are not detectable in the blood. They must be looked for in the cancer tissue itself.