Prognostic role of sex steroid receptors in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

From the available literature, it is unclear what proportion of pancreatic adenocarcinomas express estrogen receptors (ERα, ERβ), progesterone receptors (PR), and androgen receptors (AR), and if any of these markers have prognostic significance. We aimed to assess (1) the expression and (2) the correlation of the aforementioned markers with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. During a five-year period, 60 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma underwent surgical resection at a single institution. Immunohistochemical stains of the studied markers were quantified by Image analysis system. ERα expression was positively associated with PR expression. Moreover, ERβ was inversely associated with the presence of metastases, whereas no significant associations implicated AR. As far as the prognostic significance of the studied receptors is concerned, higher ERα expression correlated with poorer survival at the univariate analysis, but the finding dissipated at the multivariate approach. No significant associations with overall survival were noted regarding the other receptors. The role of sex hormone receptors in the survival from pancreatic adenocarcinoma seems rather limited. Further prospective studies assessing those receptors should ideally be designed in order to confirm our results and possibly outline additional correlations between other steroid receptors and features of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.