Skip to main content

Hormone Receptor-Positive

Meaning

Hormone Receptor-Positive is a clinical designation, primarily used in oncology, to describe cancer cells that express functional receptors for specific hormones, most commonly estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR). This expression indicates that the tumor’s growth is stimulated, or driven, by the binding of these circulating hormones to their respective receptors on the cell surface. The presence of these receptors is a critical prognostic factor and determines the suitability of hormone-blocking therapies, which aim to starve the cancer cells of their growth-promoting signal.