[Content of progesterone, glucocorticoid and glycyrrhizic acid receptors in normal and tumoral human breast tissue].

Progesterone and glucocorticoid receptor levels were assayed in breast tumor. The progesterone levels in tumor were 1.2-2.5 times those in normal tissue sampled from the same patients. The binding of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) to cytoplasmic proteins (GA "receptor" levels) was studied using procedures for glucocorticoid receptor assay. The "receptor" concentrations in tumor tissue were 1.5-5 times that in normal one. The "receptors" were detected only in 5.9% of normal breast tissue samples. The Kd of GA-protein complex was ca.7 x 10(-8) M. GA seems to offer significant advantage as a drug-carrier involved in therapy of glucocorticoid-dependent breast cancer.