Reporting Results of Estrogen Receptor (ER) and Progesterone Receptor (PgR)
Testing
Result | Criteria | Comments |
Positive | Immunoreactive tumor cells present (≥1%) | The percentage of immunoreactive cells may be determined by visual estimation or quantitation. Quantitation can be provided by reporting the percentage of positive cells or by a scoring system, such as the Allred score or H score. |
Negative | <1% immunoreactive tumor cells present | |
Two methods of quantifying ER by using both
intensity and percentage of positive cells are the Allred score17 (Table
2) and the H score18
Allred Score* for Estrogen
and Progesterone Receptor Evaluation
Proportion Score | Positive Cells, % | Intensity | Intensity Score |
0 | 0 | None | 0 |
1 | <1 | Weak | 1 |
2 | 1 to 10 | Intermediate | 2 |
3 | 11 to 33 | Strong | 3 |
4 | 34 to 66 | |
5 | ≥67 |
* The Allred score combines the percentage of positive cells and the
intensity of the reaction product in most of the carcinoma.17 The 2
scores are added together for a final score with 8 possible values. Scores of 0
and 2 are considered negative. Scores of 3 to 8 are considered positive.H Score* for Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Evaluation
Calculation of H Score |
Cell Signal | Percentage of Cells | Value Multiplied |
Cells with no signal | | % x 0 = 0 |
Cells with weak signal | | % x 1 = |
Cells with moderate signal | | % x 2 = |
Cells with strong signal | | % x 3 = |
Total score = | |
* The H score is determined by multiplying the
percentage of cells demonstrating each intensity (scored from 0 to 3) and
adding the results.18 There are 300 possible values. In this system,
<1% positive cells is considered to be a negative result.
Reporting Results of Estrogen Receptor (ER) and Progesterone Receptor (PgR)
Testing
Result | Criteria | Comments |
Positive | Immunoreactive tumor cells present (≥1%) | The percentage of immunoreactive cells may be determined by visual estimation or quantitation. Quantitation can be provided by reporting the percentage of positive cells or by a scoring system, such as the Allred score or H score. |
Negative | <1% immunoreactive tumor cells present | |
Two methods of quantifying ER by using both
intensity and percentage of positive cells are the Allred score17 (Table
2) and the H score18
Allred Score* for Estrogen
and Progesterone Receptor Evaluation
Proportion Score | Positive Cells, % | Intensity | Intensity Score |
0 | 0 | None | 0 |
1 | <1 | Weak | 1 |
2 | 1 to 10 | Intermediate | 2 |
3 | 11 to 33 | Strong | 3 |
4 | 34 to 66 | |
5 | ≥67 |
* The Allred score combines the percentage of positive cells and the
intensity of the reaction product in most of the carcinoma.17 The 2
scores are added together for a final score with 8 possible values. Scores of 0
and 2 are considered negative. Scores of 3 to 8 are considered positive.H Score* for Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Evaluation
Calculation of H Score |
Cell Signal | Percentage of Cells | Value Multiplied |
Cells with no signal | | % x 0 = 0 |
Cells with weak signal | | % x 1 = |
Cells with moderate signal | | % x 2 = |
Cells with strong signal | | % x 3 = |
Total score = | |
* The H score is determined by multiplying the
percentage of cells demonstrating each intensity (scored from 0 to 3) and
adding the results.18 There are 300 possible values. In this system,
<1% positive cells is considered to be a negative result.