Androgen Receptor Expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15 to 20% of all breast cancers. These patients do not benefit from hormone therapy and other targeted treatments of breast cancer. Recently, researchers proposed the use of androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapies in this subset of patients. The rate of AR expression in TNBC patients varies from 0 to 53%. AR positivity is associated with a better outcome for breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate AR status in TNBC patients and its association with other demographic and pathologic features. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Cancer Institute of Iran, affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, in 2015. Archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast tumor blocks were evaluated to determine the AR status of the tumors. Demographic and pathologic characteristics of the patients were retrieved from the department of pathology database. Data were analyzed with SPSS 18.0. Seventy-seven TNBC patients with the mean age of 45.3 ± 11.5 were assessed. Twenty-six patients (34%) showed AR expression, and 51 patients (56%) did not have AR expression. There was no significant correlation between AR status and age, tumor size, histopathologic type of tumor, or lymph node involvement. However, AR positivity had a statistically significant association with a lower tumor grade and lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.029 and P = 0.01, respectively). TNBC patients with AR expression tend to have lower tumor grades and higher rates of lymphovascular invasion.