Also Known As
Estrogen Receptors
Progesterone Receptors
ER and PR Status
Hormone Receptor Status
Formal Name
Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Status
This article was last reviewed on
This article waslast modified on July 27, 2018.
At a Glance
Why Get Tested?

The hormone receptor test determines if a breast cancer tumor is positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors, helping to guide treatment and determine prognosis

When To Get Tested?

When you have been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer or when your cancer has recurred

Sample Required?

A sample of breast cancer tissue obtained during a biopsy or a tumor removed surgically during a lumpectomy or mastectomy

Test Preparation Needed?

Your health practitioner may have you discontinue taking hormones for a time period before your sample is collected.

You may be able to find your test results on your laboratory's website or patient portal. However, you are currently at Lab Tests. You may have been directed here by your lab's website in order to provide you with background information about the test(s) you had performed. You will need to return to your lab's website or portal, or contact your healthcare practitioner in order to obtain your test results.

This Website is an award-winning patient education website offering information on laboratory tests. The content on the site, which has been reviewed by laboratory scientists and other medical professionals, provides general explanations of what results might mean for each test listed on the site, such as what a high or low value might suggest to your healthcare practitioner about your health or medical condition.

The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report. They are typically found to the right of your results.

If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range.

Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. They are sometimes called "normal" values. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases.

While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are "within normal limits."

For more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean.

What is being tested?

Receptors are specialized proteins on the surface of or within cells that recognize and bind to other substances. The binding typically has a specific effect on the cells. Many, but not all, breast cancer cells have receptors that bind to the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Breast cancer tumors with estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) depend on the hormones to grow and divide. ER and PR testing of breast tumor tissue determines if one or both types of receptors are present.

Knowing if a tumor depends on hormones to grow helps a health practitioner determine a person's risk of breast cancer recurrence and whether it can be treated with hormone therapy to block estrogen and progesterone. About two-thirds of breast cancer tissues are positive for both ER and PR.

In 2010, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) jointly published guidelines that recommend that all tumors from individuals with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer be evaluated for estrogen and progesterone receptors. The guidelines also state that all recurrent breast cancers should be tested and that the option of testing should be provided for patients who have non-invasive breast cancer.

How is the sample collected for testing?

A sample of breast cancer tissue is obtained by doing a fine needle aspiration, needle biopsy, or surgical biopsy, or a tumor is removed surgically during a lumpectomy or mastectomy.

Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample?

Your health practitioner may have you discontinue taking hormones for a time period before your sample is collected.

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Common Questions
  • How is it used?

    Estrogen and progesterone hormone receptor (ER and PR) status tests are standard tests for all invasive breast cancers, and on recurring cancers, as recommended by guidelines published in 2010 by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Hormone receptor status is used to predict an individual's cancer outcome (as a prognostic marker) and to determine if hormone therapy will be an effective treatment.

    Those who have ER-positive and PR-positive tumors tend to have a better prognosis for disease-free survival and overall survival than those with ER-negative or PR-negative tumors. They are also much more likely to respond to endocrine therapy, such as the anti-hormone treatment tamoxifen.

  • When is it ordered?

    Hormone receptor status testing is recommended as part of an initial workup when a person has been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Typically, testing is also performed on breast cancer that has returned after successful treatment (recurred). Patients with non-invasive breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS) may discuss the option with their health practitioners and decide to undergo testing as part of their workup.

  • What does the test result mean?

    In general, if a person's cancer is ER-positive and PR-positive, the individual will have a better than average prognosis, and their cancer is likely to respond to endocrine therapy such as tamoxifen. The more receptors present and the more intense their reaction, the more likely the response.

    If a person's cancer is ER-negative but PR-positive, or ER-positive but PR-negative, then she may still benefit from endocrine therapy but may have a diminished response.

    If the cancer is both ER-negative and PR-negative, then the person is not likely to benefit from endocrine therapy.

    An individual's response to endocrine therapy will depend on a variety of factors, but typical response rates include:

    • ER-positive, PR-positive: 75-80%
    • ER-positive, PR-negative: 40-50%
    • ER-negative, PR-positive: 25-30%
    • ER-negative, PR-negative: 10% or less
  • Is there anything else I should know?

    HER2/neu testing may be done at the same time as hormone receptor status testing. A patient with a positive estrogen and/or progesterone receptor status may find their response to endocrine therapy diminished if they are also HER2/neu-positive.

    Hormone receptor status testing is not available in every laboratory. It requires experience and special training to perform and interpret. A health practitioner will probably send a patient's sample to a reference laboratory and it may take several days to weeks before the results are available.

    It takes a small amount of cancer tissue to perform hormone receptor status testing. If a sufficient sample is not available, a health practitioner may make an assumption that a patient's cancer is ER-positive and PR-positive in order to broaden the treatment options.

  • Is there a blood test that can be done to check my hormone receptor status?

    Not at present. The cancer cells do not "shed" the receptors, so they are not detectable in the blood. They must be evaluated in the cancer tissue itself. However, research is ongoing and new technologies continue to be developed.

  • Would this testing also be performed on a man?

    Yes. Men do not get breast cancer as frequently as women, but it does occur and their cancer may also be ER- or PR-positive.

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Related Content

On This Site

Tests: HER2/neu; Tumor Markers; Gene Expression Tests for Breast Cancer; CA 15-3

Conditions: Breast Cancer

In the News: New Study Results: Test Helps More Women with Early Breast Cancer Skip Chemo (2018)

Elsewhere On The Web

Breastcancer.org: What is Hormonal Therapy?
National Cancer Institute: Estrogen Receptors
American Cancer Society: Detailed Guide, Breast Cancer
National Breast Cancer Foundation: Lab Tests

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View Sources

Sources Used in Current Review

(Copyright 2010) American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists Guideline Recommendations for Immunohistochemical Testing of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors in Breast Cancer. Available online at http://www.asco.org/sites/www.asco.org/files/unabridged_er_pr_revised_6.28.10_1.pdf through http://www.asco.org. Accessed October 2013.

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(Copyright 2013). Estrogen and progesterone receptor testing for breast cancer. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Available online through http://www.cancer.net. Accessed October 2013.

(August 2012). Hormone therapy for breast cancer. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/hormone-therapy-breast through http://www.cancer.gov/. Accessed October 2013.

(Copyright 2012). National Breast Cancer Foundation. Lab Tests. Available online at http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-lab-tests through http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org. Accessed October 2013.

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ASCO Online. Estrogen Receptors and Progesterone Receptors as Markers for Breast Cancer. American Society of Clinical Oncology [Online guidelines]. Available online at http://www.asco.org/prof/pp/html/guide/tumor/m_tumor12.htm through http://www.asco.org.

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