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Estrogen receptors in breast cells appear to decline during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle while the level of progesterone receptors appears to be the same during the follicular and luteal phases. Previous studies on cells from the endometrial lining of the uterus found that both estrogen and progesterone receptors decline in the luteal phase. Levels of estrogen and progesterone receptors in breast cells were measured in 42 healthy women using fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Estrogen receptor was detected in 68% of samples drawn during the follicular phase and in 32% of samples drawn during the luteal phase. However, progesterone receptor was detected in about 80% of the samples drawn during both phases.

Overexpression of the gene for p21 protein may be associated with malignancy in ovarian tissue. p21 protein appears to play a role in regulating cell growth, and its over-amplification has already been associated with the development of pancreatic cancer and with tumor progression in breast cancer. Levels of p21 were measured in ten normal ovaries, four ovarian cysts, six benign ovarian tumors, 42 malignant ovarian tumors and 15 metastases arising from ovarian tumors. p21 expression did not differ among samples taken from the normal and cystic ovaries and the benign tumors. However, p21 levels were significantly higher in the cancerous tumors than in benign tumors and normal tissues. Furthermore, levels of p21 were significantly higher in the 15 metastases than in the 42 malignant tumors that had not metastasized. Tumors with estrogen receptors and/or progesterone receptors expressed significantly higher levels of p21 than tumors without these receptors.