Expression and significance of ER and PR in uterine leiomyomas

Objective To explore the etiology of uterine leiomyomas by detecting the expression of estrogen receptor(ER),progesterone receptor(PR) and the level of serum estrogen and progesterone.Methods The levels of serum estrogen and progesterone were detected in all cases.The expression of ER and PR in leiomyoma and normal matched myometrium was detected by immunohistochemical staining.Results In proliferative and secretory phases,the levels of serum estrogen and progesterone were higher in patients with uterine leiomyomas than those in normal woman.However,there were no significant differences(P0.05).The number of ER positive cells was significantly higher in proliferative phase than that in secretory phase(P0.01);the number of PR positive cells was significantly higher in secretory phase than that in proliferative phase(P0.01).Conclusion Localized higher levels of estrogen and progesterone resulted from the conjugation of estrogen and progesterone with ER and PR in uterine leiomyoma may be the important etiology of uterine leiomyoma.