Abstract:

Objective To determine the expression of androgen receptor（AR）in early triple negative breast cancer（TNBC）and its relationship with clinicopathologic features and prognosis. Methods The clinical data on 185 patients with early TNBC treated in Taihe Hospital from January 2010 to December 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. The relationship between AR expression and the clinicopathological features was analyzed based on the results of immunohistochemistry，and the influence of AR on prognosis was investigated. Results Of the 185 patients diagnosed with early TNBC，54（29.2%）were AR positive. As compared with AR negative patients，AR positive patients had lower histological grade，smaller tumor size，lower lymph node metastasis rate，and lower expressions of p53 and Ki⁃67（P < 0.05）. AR expression was not associated with age，menstruation，vascular cancer thrombus，chemotherapy and radiation（P > 0.05）. During a follow⁃up of median 63 months，41 cases（22.2%） developed recurrence and 27（4.6%）were dead. The patients with positive AR had longer disease⁃free survival and overall survival than those with negative AR（P < 0.05）. The multivariate Cox analysis showed that AR was an in⁃ dependent risk factor affecting the overall survival in patients with TNBC（P < 0.05）. Conclusions AR⁃positive expression in early TNBC patients was associated with good prognosis clinicopathological indicators includinglower histological grade，smaller tumor diameter and lower Ki ⁃67 proliferation index. It was an independent prognostic factor，suggesting that AR may be a new prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for early TNBC.

Key words:

triple negative breast cancer, androgen receptor, pathological features, prognosis