Androgen receptor expression in hormone-negative breast cancers and its prognostic significance

Abstract

Background/aim Breast carcinoma is a common, yet heterogeneous aggressive disease affecting relatively young patients. The androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in majority of breast cancers and across the main breast cancer subtypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate AR expression in hormone-negative breast cancer subtypes. Materials and methods Sixty cases of breast cancer were involved in this study; the samples were received in the Department of Pathology of Kasr El-Aini Hospital, Cairo University, Egypt. The expression of AR and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 receptors were studied by immunohistochemistry in 60 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded selected hormone-negative breast cancer surgical specimens. The immunohistochemistry expression of the marker was correlated with the clinicopathological variables. Results Of the hormone-negative cases, 61.6% show positive AR expression, 89% of which are invasive duct carcinoma, 68.3% are associated with ductal carcinoma in situ, and 55% are human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-enriched subtype. A significant correlation was found between the AR expression and tumor type. There is no evident significant correlation with tumor grade, multicentricity or lymphovascular invasion. Conclusion The AR has recently emerged as a useful marker for the further refinement of breast cancer subtype classification. Antiandrogens are thought to markedly enhance treatments and to be the first targeted therapy in hormone-negative breast cancer cases.