A new assay to assess steroid-hormone responsiveness in head and neck cancer

A new assay has been developed to predict the effectiveness of steroid-hormone therapy in various tumors. The Biopsy Nuclear Binding assay measures the amount of biologically activereceptorthatbindsbothsteroidhormoneandacceptor sites in the nucleus. This assay does not measure the entire receptor population, only those that arebiologically active; therefore, it should more accurately predict the response to steroid-hormone therapy. We applied this assay effectively in breast and endometrial carcinoma. Preliminary studies have shown that 40% of patients with head and neck squamous-cell carcinomas have biolo gically active (nuclear bound) pro gesterone receptors. If nuclear binding predicts a remission with hormonal therapy, then the quality of life of appropriately selected patients could greatly improve.