It is nearly 60 years since the identification of the oestrogen hormone receptor (ER) in breast cancer, a discovery that radically transformed the clinical management of the disease. Hormonal therapy with anti-oestrogens (Tamoxifen and Aromatase inhibitors) antagonises ER function and became the mainstay treatment until today. Around 70% of breast tumours are classified as oestrogen dependent, yet the mechanism of action of other hormones in breast cancer growth both independently and interacting with ER as well as their targeted therapies have yet to find a place in the clinic. In this article, I critically review the scientific literature for the period 1960–2016 and examine the rise and persistence of the oestrogen hypothesis as well as the neglect of alternative hormonal explanations. By using Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of the scientific field alongside feminist science scholars to explore the impact of gendered assumptions on science, the analysis provides insight into the dominant role of the oestrogen hypothesis and the struggles for legitimation of different alternative perspectives. I consider these alternative approaches as “internal” struggles for scientific authority, which are in turn, socially determined by “external” gender values that reinforce a binary arrangement of male/female bodies based on fixed molecular hormonal traits.

中文翻译：

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雌激素受体和乳腺癌：我们准备好继续前进了吗？批判性审查

自在乳腺癌中发现雌激素受体 (ER) 以来已有近 60 年的时间，这一发现从根本上改变了该疾病的临床管理。使用抗雌激素（他莫昔芬和芳香酶抑制剂）的激素治疗可拮抗 ER 功能，并成为直到今天的主要治疗方法。大约 70% 的乳腺肿瘤被归类为雌激素依赖型，但其他激素在乳腺癌生长中的作用机制（无论是独立的还是与 ER 相互作用的）以及它们的靶向治疗尚未在临床上找到一席之地。在这篇文章中，我批判性地回顾了 1960 年至 2016 年期间的科学文献，并检查了雌激素假说的兴起和持续存在以及对替代激素解释的忽视。通过使用皮埃尔·布迪厄 (Pierre Bourdieu) 的科学领域概念与女权主义科学学者一起探索性别假设对科学的影响，该分析提供了对雌激素假说的主导作用以及不同替代观点合法化斗争的洞察。我认为这些替代方法是争取科学权威的“内部”斗争，而这些又是由“外部”性别价值观决定的，这些价值观加强了基于固定分子激素特征的男性/女性身体的二元排列。