Tissue microarray immnunohistochemical staining for androgen receptor in breast cancer in a Ghanaian cohort

Abstract

Abstract Introduction/Objective Despite the advancement in therapy, breast cancer still remains the commonest malignancy in women globally due in part to its heterogeneity. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents up to 20% of all breast cancer variants, an aggressive disease with poorer outcomes compared to other breast cancer subtypes. No targeted therapies are currently approved for TNBC, and newer treatment approaches are seriously needed. Androgen receptor (AR), another hormonal receptor, is often expressed in breast cancer and its role depends on the relative levels of circulating estrogens and androgens. This study aims to assess the expression of AR in breast cancer in a tertiary hospital in Ghana Methods/Case Report Immunohistochemical staining for AR was performed on tissue microarray (TMA) blocks of which ER, PR, Her-2/neu had already been done. 197 cases were suitable for the study. Results from the immunostaining were analysed using SPSS version 23 for descriptive statistics and correlations (X2 and Pearson tests) Results (if a Case Study enter NA) 197 TMA cases were used. TNBCs constitute 61.9% of the cancers. The majority of these tumours were grade III, ductal carcinoma NST. The mean age was 49.86±14.09 and the modal age group was the 40-49 years. Our cases showed 23% AR expression in triple negative cancers. The study also established that AR is more frequently expressed in low grade tumours compared to the high-grade ones. Conclusion There is appreciable level of AR expression in our cases but most are quadruple negative. However, AR is more frequently expressed in low grade tumours than high grade ones