Evaluation of the prognostic significance of androgen receptor expression in patients with breast cancer

Abstract

To evaluate the prognostic significance of androgen receptor (AR) expression in patients with breast cancer. The clinicopathological data of 184 consecutive female patients with primary breast cancer treated from January 2003 to June 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. The expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), AR and c-erbB2 protein were assessed in breast cancer tissue before chemotherapy by using immunohistochemistry methods. The correlations between AR expression and lymph node status, c-erbB2 expression in patients who were classified as two subsets according to the lymph node status and c-erbB2 over-expression and the prognostic significance of AR expression were analyzed. All the 184 patients were followed up for more than 5 years. The lymph node involvement, 5-year metastasis and 5-year survival rate were 45.1%, 16.9% and 86.4%, respectively. The 184 patients were classified as two subsets of node-negative and node-positive group. The Chi-square test showed an lowly inverse correlation between AR and lymph node status (P<0.05, rs=-0.236), AR expression rate was lower in patients with positive nodes. The Kaplan-Meier test showed that AR expression had no influence on prognosis in lymph node-negative patients. In patients with positive nodes, the ones with AR-positive tumors had significantly better survival rate (P<0.05), and the 5-year survival rate and the median survival time of patients with AR-positive tumors were significantly better than those of patients with AR-negative tumors (89.3% vs. 67.3% and 56 months vs. 37 months). When the patients were classified as two subsets: c-erbB2-negative and c-erbB2-positive, it indicated that AR expression had on impact on prognosis in c-erbB2-negative patients; and in c-erbB2-positive patients, the survival status was significantly better in patients with AR-positive breast cancer, the 5-year survival rate and the median survival time of patients with AR-positive tumors were significantly better than those of patients with AR-negative tumors (80.0% vs. 57.1% and 57 months vs. 37 months). The patients with positive lymph nodes and positive c-erbB2 expression have a poorer prognosis in the female breast cancer patients, and the expression of AR has a prognostic significance in those patients. The patients with AR-positive tumors have a better prognosis than these with AR-negative tumors.