Up to 21% of invasive breast cancers in the U.S. have mixed hormone receptor status. In other words, the tumors are classified as either estrogen receptor positive and progesterone receptor negative (ER+/PR-) or estrogen receptor negative and progesterone receptor positive (ER-/PR+).
Both types either overexpress the HER2/neu gene (HER2+) or not (HER2-). Women with ER+/PR- breast cancer are more likely to be postmenopausal, whereas those with ER-/PR+ breast cancer are more likely to be premenopausal. Endocrine treatments such as tamoxifen are used to treat both of these types, although they tend to be less effective for ER-/PR+ tumors.
Generally speaking, the prognosis of ER+/PR- is better than that of ER-/PR+ breast cancer and both have worse outcomes than ER+/PR+ disease. Research concerning mixed hormone receptor breast cancer risk factors and treatment is scarce.

ER+/PR- breast cancer survival rates

In this section, we summarize available data published during the past five years concerning risk of recurrence for early-stage mixed hormone receptor disease. However, please note that outcomes can vary greatly depending on numerous factors, including diet and other lifestyle choices. Also, the data below represents snapshots from several studies that were conducted using different populations under a variety of circumstances. Therefore, the numbers are not definitive and should not be used to calculate your likely recurrence-free survival.
Progression-free survival means no recurrence, metastasis or breast cancer-related death took place during the specified period. Overall survival means that no death occurred from any cause (this includes deaths from both breast cancer and non-breast cancer-specific causes). Breast cancer-specific survival refers to the percentage of patients who did not die from breast cancer during the specified period.

Patient characteristics → Likelihood of progression-free survival

HER2- receptor status
  • ER+/PR-/HER2- Five-year progression-free survival → 79% to 82%
HER2+ receptor status
  • 5-year survival: ER+/PR-
    • ER+/PR-/HER2+ Overall survival → 81%
    • ER+/PR-/HER2+ Breast cancer-specific survival → 88%
  • 5-year survival: ER-/PR+
    • ER-/PR+/HER2+ Overall survival → 79%
    • ER-/PR+/HER2+ Breast cancer-specific survival → 85%

Sources of information in this webpage

The information above, which is updated continually as new research becomes available, has been developed based solely on the results of academic studies. Clicking on any of the underlined terms will take you to its tag or webpage, which contain more extensive information.
Below are links to 20 studies concerning this topic. Please also see our articles on breast cancer diets for ER+/PR- or ER-/PR+ patients and survivors.