A Study on the Relationship Between the Estrogen Receptor （ER） Level and the Clinical-Pathological Changes in Varions Type of Gastrointestinal Tmors

Estrogen receptor in 70 primary gastrointestinal cancer were determined using Radioligand Binding Assay（RBA） method and following results were obtained: Although ER was nagative in normal gastrointestinal mucosa, of 70 cancers studied, 21 exhibited positive estrogen receptors. Gastric cancer 9/35 （25.7）; colorectal cancer 12/35（34.3）. In all cancers with positive receptors the binding activity ranged from 10.99—57.1 fmol/mg. P for gastric cancer and from 10.37—33.15 fmol/mg. P for colorectal cancer. Th ese value were lower than that of breast cancer. Estrogen receptors were frequently detectable in poorly differentiated histologic type of gastric cancer, while they were more frequently detectable in welldifferentiated histologic type of colorectal cancer. ER-positive cases were characterized grossly as Borrmann type Ⅳ in gastric cancer and were most frequently associated with Dukes’ Classification of C in colorectal cancer. The presence of ER in some gastrointestinal cancer indicates the possibility that sex hormone facters are involved in these tumors which may be endocrine-dependent.