Androgen Receptor Expression in Estrogen Receptor–negative Breast Cancer: Immunohistochemical, Clinical, and Prognostic Associations

SN Agoff, PE Swanson, H Linden… - American journal of …, 2003 - academic.oup.com
SN Agoff, PE Swanson, H Linden, SE Hawes, TJ Lawton
American journal of clinical pathology, 2003academic.oup.com
We sought to determine the prevalence of androgen receptor (AR) expression in a
predominantly estrogen receptor (ER)-negative subset of breast cancers and delineate the
immunohistochemical and clinical associations, including whether AR expression has
prognostic significance in ER-negative tumors. We identified 69 ER-negative and 19 ER-
positive breast cancer cases with concurrent immunohistochemical prognostic panels (ER,
PR, HER-2/neu, Ki-67, and p53); immunohistochemical analysis was performed for AR …
Abstract
We sought to determine the prevalence of androgen receptor (AR) expression in a predominantly estrogen receptor (ER)-negative subset of breast cancers and delineate the immunohistochemical and clinical associations, including whether AR expression has prognostic significance in ER-negative tumors. We identified 69 ER-negative and 19 ER-positive breast cancer cases with concurrent immunohistochemical prognostic panels (ER, PR, HER-2/neu, Ki-67, and p53); immunohistochemical analysis was performed for AR using standard techniques. Clinical data were extracted from medical records. χ2 tests were used to assess associations between variables. AR was found in 49% (34/69) of ER-negative and 89% (17/19) of ER-positive cases. In ER-negative tumors, AR was associated with increased age (P = .02), postmenopausal status (P < .001), tumor grade (P = .03), tumor size (P = .03), and HER-2/neu overexpression (P = .003). In ER-positive tumors, AR was associated with progesterone receptor expression (P < .03). In univariate analysis of ER-negative tumors, patients with AR-positive tumors had significantly better disease-free survival (P = .049). AR is expressed in a significant number of ER-negative cases and shows significant associations with important clinical and pathologic prognostic factors.
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