title: Expression of oestrogen receptor β and prognosis of colorectal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies suggest that sex steroids influence colorectal cancer (CRC) carcinogenesis. The oestrogen receptor β (ERβ) is the predominantly expressed ER in the colon and loss of ERβ in CRC has been associated with advanced cancer stages.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on vital status by the end of 2009 was obtained for 1262 CRC patients recruited between 2003 and 2007. The ERβ expression was immunohistochemically measured and associations of ERβ scores with overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for prognostic factors, such as tumour stage and second primary tumours.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1101 tumour samples with successful measurement, 535 were ERβ negative (48.6%), 381 (34.6%) showed moderate and 185 (16.8%) showed high ERβ expression. Compared with high ERβ expression, lack of ERβ was associated with higher cancer stages as well as greater tumour extent. In multivariate analyses, ERβ negativity was associated with an increased hazard ratio for death (HR=1.61, 95% CI 1.09-2.40, P=0.02), death attributed to CRC (HR=1.54, 95% CI 0.99-2.39, P=0.06) as well as a poorer DFS (DFS HR=1.64, 95% CI 1.23-3.36, P=0.04). The associations were stronger in stage I-III patients (OS HR=2.20, 95% CI 1.28-4.06, P=0.007, DSS HR=2.38, 95% CI 1.20-5.39, P=0.02, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lack of ERβ expression is associated with advanced cancer stages and independently associated with poor survival.
authors: Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Rudolph
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Toth
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Hoffmeister
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Roth
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Herpel
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Jansen
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Marx
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Brenner
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Chang-Claude
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta