Oestrogen receptor status of breast cancers from related patients

Breast tumours from nine pairs of related women have been studied with respect to their oestrogen receptor (ER) concentrations and histological appearance and grade. 72% of these tumours were oestrogen receptor positive in both soluble and nuclear fractions. In eight of the nine pairs, the tumours were of the same ER status. Apart from a suggestion of a similar host response to the tumours in two related pairs, the histological appearance of the tumours showed no striking similarities. This small study suggests that familial breast cancers are more likely to be hormone dependent.