Sex Steroid Hormone Receptors in Human Skin Appendages and Their Neoplasms

This study investigated the presence of sex steroid hormone receptors in human skin appendages and their neoplasms by examining 23 cases of non-pathological skin and 50 cases of skin adnexal tumors. It was found that ERalpha was present in basal cells of sebaceous glands in non-pathological skin, while AR and PRB were found in both differentiated and basal cells. In sebaceous gland neoplasms, ERalpha was significantly less present compared to non-pathological skin, and ERbeta was absent. AR was less present in benign sweat gland neoplasms compared to non-pathological counterparts. The study concluded that sex steroids played important roles in the regulation of skin appendage function and the development of neoplasms, with most sex steroid hormone receptors remaining consistent during neoplastic transformation, except for AR and ERalpha in sweat and sebaceous gland neoplasms.