Topi G et al. - In the current study it was shown that elevated estrogen receptor (ER)-beta expression is independently associated with a better prognosis and hormone status in female CRC patients.

Methods
Tissue microarrays of primary CRC tumour samples from 320 female patients were evaluated with a monoclonal anti-ER-beta antibody.
Staining intensity was determined using immunohistochemistry.
The association between ER-beta expression and overall survival, disease-free survival, hormone status, and lifestyle was determined.

Results
Among the 314 samples with successfully detected ER-beta, 182 had low expression and 132 had high expression.
Patients with high ER-beta expression had a decreased risk of overall mortality by 50% (HR, 0.50) and cancer recurrence by 76% (HR, 0.24).
High ER-beta expression was correlated with shorter breastfeeding time and longer use of hormone replacement therapy.