The short answer
Hormone receptor status describes whether cancer cells have receptors for estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR). It is common in breast cancer reports. Receptor-positive cancers may respond to hormone therapy, which is why the result helps guide treatment planning.
Hormone receptor status shows whether cancer cells have receptors for estrogen or progesterone.
It is written as ER (estrogen receptor) and PR (progesterone receptor), positive or negative.
Receptor-positive cancers may respond to hormone therapy.
The result helps guide treatment, not describe how far cancer has spread.
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The short version
On many breast cancer pathology reports you will see hormone receptor status, usually written as ER and PR. These describe whether the cancer cells carry receptors for the hormones estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR). The answer helps guide treatment. This page explains what the result means and what to ask your care team.
What the receptors do
Some cancer cells carry proteins that act like docking points for hormones. When estrogen or progesterone locks into one, it sends a signal that can help the cancer grow. A cancer with these receptors is called hormone receptor positive. A cancer without them is hormone receptor negative.
Your report lists ER and PR separately, each as positive or negative. MedlinePlus says a result is positive when at least 1% of cells in the sample have receptors. Your report may also give a percentage.
Why status guides treatment
This test matters because it opens or closes a specific treatment door:
- Receptor positive. The cancer may respond to hormone therapy. That treatment lowers hormone levels, or blocks the receptors so the signal cannot get through. It adds a treatment option.
- Receptor negative. NCI says these cancers probably will not respond to hormone-blocking treatment. Other options, such as chemotherapy, are available. Negative does not mean untreatable. It points the plan in a different direction.
One piece of a larger picture
Hormone receptor status describes the biology of the cancer cells. It does not say how far the cancer has spread. Care teams combine it with other features, such as HER2 status, grade, and stage. No single result decides everything.
What to ask
- What is my ER and PR status?
- Does it make hormone therapy an option?
- How does it fit with my other results, such as HER2 status?
Your care team's reading of your full report is what applies to you.
Hormone receptor status can also change over time. If cancer comes back after treatment, your team may repeat the biopsy and retest the receptors.
Sources
Common questions
What does hormone receptor positive mean?
It means the cancer cells have receptors for estrogen, progesterone, or both. These cancers can be fueled by those hormones, and they may respond to hormone therapy that lowers hormone levels or blocks the receptors. Your care team explains what this means for your treatment.
Is hormone receptor positive good or bad?
Receptor-positive status adds hormone therapy as a treatment option. But status is only one factor among several, and your care team weighs the whole picture.
What does ER and PR mean on my report?
ER stands for estrogen receptor and PR for progesterone receptor. Your report lists each as positive or negative, and sometimes as a percentage of cells that carry the receptor. Together they describe the hormone receptor status.
Does hormone receptor negative mean fewer options?
Receptor-negative cancers probably will not respond to hormone-blocking treatment, so other options, such as chemotherapy, are used. Being negative does not mean untreatable — it points the plan in a different direction. Your care team can explain the options.
Questions to ask your doctor
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More words from this kind of report
Other guides in biomarker & genetic tests.
Your next step
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Sources last checked: 2026-10-02 what this meansLast updated: 2026-08-11Next planned review: 2027-07-14
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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