Estrogen reception confusion

cuddyclothes
cuddyclothes Member Posts: 160
edited October 2015 in Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results

I couldn't find this question asked anywhere, and reading about percentages made me confused. My tumor was Stage 1, grade 1, 1 cm., clean margins, no node involvement, ER/PR positive, HERTZ negative. At our last consult, my MO said my estrogen was 3+. What does that mean?

How does it compare to other numbers, or percentages? Thanks.


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  • 123JustMe
    123JustMe Member Posts: 385
    edited October 2015
    Cuddly,
    Sorry you are here but there are a lot of us here to help! I believe the 3+ just means strongly positive....which is great news!
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  • Englishmummy
    Englishmummy Member Posts: 337
    edited October 2015

    Cuddy,

    I am not sure what exactly that means but I * think* it is something to do with the response to hormones when they are staining the cells in the lab - meaning they got a good response and it is very hormone receptive. That is based on my own reading so I may be wrong.  Could I ask what your ER/PR percentages are?

    You have a pretty rare type of BC and it has a great prognosis http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/centers/breast_cancer_program/rare_tumors/papillary_breast_cancer.html

    There is a rare types forum here too, here is the link for the papillary BC thread  https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/137/topic/785782?page=4#post_4469184

     

     

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  • BarredOwl
    BarredOwl Member Posts: 2,433
    edited October 2015

    Hi Cuddy:

    There are various scoring methods for Estrogen Receptor positivity. The methods used for estrogen receptor status reporting vary between different institutions, as explained on this page from the information content sections of this site, entitled "How to read hormone receptor test results":

    http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/hor...

    My surgical pathology report clearly indicated the standard used to evaluate receptor positivity. It sounds like you may be receiving your results verbally? If you don't have copies, I strongly recommend that you request copies of the actual written pathology reports from any biopsies and from your surgery/surgeries, and keep these in a health file or binder. You can see exactly what the report says about your ER status and how it was determined.

    For example, an ER score of "3" might be from the Allred scoring system:

    "An Allred score between 0 and 8. This scoring system is named for the doctor who developed it. The system looks at what percentage of cells test positive for hormone receptors, along with how well the receptors show up after staining (this is called "intensity"). This information is then combined to score the sample on a scale from 0 to 8. The higher the score, the more receptors were found and the easier they were to see in the sample."

    An Allred score appears to be a combined rating based on the percentage of cells which are positive and the intensity or brightness of the staining.

    Again, to be certain, you should take a look at the pathology report itself. If you still have questions about the score or its implications, you should not hesitate to check in again with your MO about it!

    BarredOwl

    [Edit: Please see Special K's explanation of another scoring system below.]

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  • Kathy044
    Kathy044 Member Posts: 433
    edited October 2015
    My scores were not presented as a percentage, some labs use fractions, the results on my tumour on the report are ER 3/3 and PR 2/3.

    Kathy
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  • BarredOwl
    BarredOwl Member Posts: 2,433
    edited October 2015

    Hi Kathy:

    Thanks for that info, which shows that knowing "out of what" or what particular scale was used is important. Hence the need to check the actual pathology report for details.

    In my case, one institution used percentages, whereas the other institution did not provide a specific percentage.

    BarredOwl

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited October 2015

    This looks like a "quick score" , or "H score", for staining intensity of the count of cells to determine estrogen receptors. Rather than counting 100 cells, which is done when using a percentage scoring technique (ex 50 of 100 cells would be ER+ of 50%), using an H score or quick score means they looked at 3 locations on the slide, and some number out of 3 spots had ER receptors. In your case, all 3 had receptors, so 3/3. Sometimes they will look beyond 3 spots and give a score of 3+

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  • cuddyclothes
    cuddyclothes Member Posts: 160
    edited October 2015

    Hi, Special K -

    Thanks for the answer! I will get the paperwork!

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