Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol (2008) 265:1089–1094 DOI 10.1007/s00405-008-0589-9 123 LARYNGOLOGY Sex hormone receptor levels in laryngeal carcinoma: a comparison between protein and RNA evaluations Chiara Bianchini · Antonio Pastore · Stefano Pelucchi · Elena Torreggiani · Elisabetta Lambertini · Elena Marchesi · Eros Magri · Claudia Frasson · Patrizia Querzoli · Roberta Piva Received: 25 June 2007 / Accepted: 16 January 2008 / Published online: 2 February 2008  Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract The larynx is a secondary sex organ, and the hormone dependence of laryngeal carcinomas is considered an interesting matter of speculation. However, while tumors of other secondary sex organs, including the pros- tate, breast, and endometrium, have been recognized as hor- mone-dependent cancers, the laryngeal carcinomas are still subject to controversy. In this study, samples from 15 laryngeal carcinomas obtained at the time of surgery were assayed for speciWc estrogen alpha, progesterone, and androgen receptor expression, both at mRNA and protein levels. Detectable levels of speciWc estrogen and progester- one receptors, 53.3 and 73.3%, respectively, were found in the tumors. This positive detection by immunohistochemi- cal analysis was higher in tumors than in normal mucosa adjacent to the tumor areas and was correlated with the absence of metastatic lymph nodes. No androgen receptor protein was detected in any sample analyzed, even if quan- titative RT-PCR revealed high mRNA levels speciWc for this receptor. A strict correspondence between protein and mRNA hormone receptor levels was not found. This is in agreement with the transcriptional and protein synthesis mechanisms, and it is also compatible with the complex lar- ynx tumorigenesis. Keywords Estrogen receptor · Progesterone receptor · Androgen receptor · Larynx carcinoma · Quantitative RT-PCR Introduction Larynx cancer in Europe accounts for 2–5% of all cancers with about 45,900 new cases in 2006: 42,100 men and 3,800 women. It still represents the second most frequent neoplasm of the respiratory apparatus, secondary to pulmo- nary carcinoma. Its incidence has increased in the last few decades, and its peak incidence occurs among people in their sixties and seventies. Major risk factors for the devel- opment of this tumor are tobacco and alcohol consumption. Relative 5-year survival is about 63% but prognosis varies depending on the anatomical site (glottic cancer has a better prognosis) and the stage. Nearly 95% of all larynx cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. This cancer has a male to female sex ratio of 11:1 in Europe, one of the highest among all cancer sites [1, 2]. It should be noted that the diVerence in susceptibility to lar- ynx cancer based on gender has remained unchanged through the years in spite of the increasing tobacco and alcohol consumption among women [3–5]. The larynx is considered a secondary sexual organ. It is inXuenced by sexual hormones, not only during puberty but also during adulthood as it is subject to laryngeal epithelial layer modiWcations, cartilage metaplasia, and morphostruc- tural changes [1, 5–7]. These considerations, in association with the peculiar epidemiological connotations, imply that Chiara Bianchini and Elena Torreggiani equally contributed to the paper. C. Bianchini · A. Pastore · S. Pelucchi · E. Marchesi ORL Division, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy E. Torreggiani · E. Lambertini · R. Piva (&) Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Section of Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy e-mail: piv@unife.it E. Magri · C. Frasson · P. Querzoli Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Section of Anatomic Pathology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy