Receptors for the epidermal growth factor and estrogens in primary bone tumors

The content of receptors for the epidermal growth factor and estrogens is studied in primary human bone tumors: osteogenic sarcoma, chondrosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, and giant cell tumor. In all of these tumors, radioligand analysis reveals receptors for epidermal growth factor in the membrane fraction and receptors for estrogens in the cytosolic fraction without any statistical differences in the mean receptor content. The vast majority of osteogenic sarcomas, chondrosarcomas of the 2nd–3rd degree of anaplasia, and one third of giant cell tumors are characterized as growth factor receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative, which probably reflects the common tendency of receptor-positive malignant tumors towards rapid growth. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 7, pp. 78–82, July, 1996