Androgen Receptor Positivity in Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients and Its Prognostic Implications-A Retrospective...

Androgen receptors (AR) are expressed in 50-80% of breast cancers (BC), and anti-AR agents are under investigation to combat AR-positive BC. The prognostic and predictive role of AR in BC is a matter of debate. This study aims to determine the rate and prognostic implications of AR positivity in non-metastatic BC. This is a retrospective study of 114 women with non-metastatic BC who underwent surgery at our institute from January to April 2015. The clinicopathological and survival data of the patients were collected. The archived tumor tissue blocks were retrieved, and AR staining was done and reported by a single pathologist. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) and assessed using Cox regression analysis. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. AR was positive in 48.3% of patients. AR positivity was present in 66.7% of patients with hormone receptor (HR) + , HER2- cancers, 58.3% with triple-positive cancer, 63.6% with HR- HER2 + , and 21.7% with triple-negative cancers. There was a significant association between the AR status and HR + status (p < 0.001), HER2 + status (p = 0.02), biology (p < 0.001), use of trastuzumab (p = 0.02), and use of hormonal therapy (p < 0.001). The 5-year DFS and OS were 83.0% and 95.4%, respectively. There was no significant association between AR status and 5-year OS and DFS. AR was positive in 48.3% of patients and was significantly associated with HR and HER2 status, tumor biology, trastuzumab, and hormonal therapy. AR status was not significantly associated with DFS and OS.