Hormone Receptor Status
There are some breast cancer cells that have a high proportion of hormone (estrogen and/or progesterone) receptors in the nucleus. These cells are sensitive to hormones that can promote cell growth. If your cancer cells have a high proportion of estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR) receptors, the report will say you are ER positive or PR positive. If your cells have a lower number of receptors, your report will say you are ER or PR negative. This is one of the most important pieces of information on the pathology report. Being ER/PR positive means you might benefit from hormonal therapy. Hormone therapy is actually therapy with an oral drug, usually tamoxifen or aromatase inhibiters, which blocks hormone receptors in the cancer cell.