Expression and Clinical Significance of Androgen Receptor in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

• Main Authors: Yuka Asano, Shinichiro Kashiwagi, Wataru Goto, Sayaka Tanaka, Tamami Morisaki, Tsutomu Takashima, Satoru Noda, Naoyoshi Onoda, Masahiko Ohsawa, Kosei Hirakawa, Masaichi Ohira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-01-01
• Series: Cancers
• Subjects: triple-negative breast cancer; androgen receptor; prognostic marker; individualized treatment; intrinsic subtype
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/9/1/4

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poor prognosis because of frequent recurrence. Androgen receptor (AR) is involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, but its role is not clearly defined. The aim of this study was to explore the expression of AR and its relationship with clinicopathologic features in TNBC. Methods: This study investigated 1036 cases of sporadic invasive breast carcinoma. Immunohistochemical assays were performed to determine the expression of AR in 190 TNBC samples. The relationships between AR expression and clinicopathologic data and prognosis were analyzed. Results: In 190 TNBC cases, the prognosis of AR-positive patients was significantly better (p = 0.019, log-rank) than AR-negative patients, and in multivariate analysis, AR expression was an independent indicator of good prognosis (p = 0.039, hazard ratio = 0.36). In patients with disease relapse, AR positivity was significantly correlated with better prognosis (p = 0.034, log-rank). Conclusions: AR expression may be useful as a subclassification marker for prognosis in TNBC.