[Histologic examination and immunohistochemical analysis of estrogen and progesterone receptors of eutopic and ectopic endometrium in patients with endometriosis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the differences of histologic dating and steroid receptors between ectopic and eutopic endometrium in patients with endometriosis. METHODS: Histologic examinations were done on eutopic and ectopic endometrium in 28 patients with pelvic endometriosis, and estrogen and progestrone receptors concentrations were determined by immunochemical ABC method in 15 patients. All the ectopic tissues were biopsied from peritoneal lesions. RESULTS: In 67.9% patients, the ectopic endometrium development was retardated and 14.3% accelerated as compared with eutopic endometrium, and only 17.9% identical. The estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) contents of ectopic endometrium were significantly lower than those of eutopic endometrium in glandular cells (P < 0.01, P < 0.05 respectively), while differences were not significant in stroma cells. CONCLUSIONS: The advantage of the immunochemical technique is that it can definitely locate the site of receptors in the histologic section. The difference in histologic dating and ER and PR concentrations in the eutopic and ectopic endometrium may be accounted for by the different steroid environments and pathogenic theory of peritoneum metaplasia.