Abstract Background Previous studies in our laboratory have shown associations of specific nuclear receptor gene variants with sporadic breast cancer. In order to investigate these findings further, we conducted the present study to determine whether expression levels of the progesterone and glucocorticoid nuclear receptor genes vary in different breast cancer grades. Methods RNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded archival breast tumour tissue and converted into cDNA. Sample cDNA underwent PCR using labelled primers to enable quantitation of mRNA expression. Expression data were normalized against the 18S ribosomal gene multiplex and analyzed using analysis of variance. Results Analysis of variance indicated a variable level of expression of both genes with regard to breast cancer grade ( P = 0.00033 for glucocorticoid receptor and P = 0.023 for progesterone receptor). Conclusion Statistical analysis indicated that expression of the progesterone nuclear receptor is elevated in late grade breast cancer tissue.