Immunofluorescence Analysis of Estrogen Receptors Alpha Expression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Tissue

Abstract

A quantitative assessment of the expression of estrogen receptors alpha (ERα) is carried out in 115 samples of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by an immunofluorescent assay and flow cytometry. It is shown that a high level of ERα of ≥20% predicts a higher aggressiveness of NSCLC than at a low level of <20%: median survival based on a follow-up period of 78 months increases by 1.5 times; the risk of death is reduced by a factor of almost 2.0 (p = 0.04). The time to death increases on average by 18 months in about 20% of patients with a low ERα expression. The results validate the informative value of the immunofluorescence analysis and flow cytometry for quantifying the ERα expression and substantiate the prospects of antiestrogen therapy as a new option for NSCLC treatment, in particular, by analogy with breast cancer—in a long-term adjuvant therapy in ERα⁺ NSCLC patients.