Cancers (Jul 2019)
Prognostic Role of Androgen Receptor in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study
- Shristi Bhattarai,
- Sergey Klimov,
- Karuna Mittal,
- Uma Krishnamurti,
- Xiaoxian (Bill) Li,
- Gabriela Oprea-Ilies,
- Ceyda Sonmez Wetherilt,
- Ansa Riaz,
- Mohammed A. Aleskandarany,
- Andrew R. Green,
- Ian O. Ellis,
- Guilherme Cantuaria,
- Meenakshi Gupta,
- Upender Manne,
- Johnson Agboola,
- Brett Baskovich,
- Emiel A. M. Janssen,
- Grace Callagy,
- Elaine M. Walsh,
- Anurag Mehta,
- Atika Dogra,
- Tanuja Shet,
- Pooja Gajaria,
- Tiffany Traina,
- Haruna A. Nggada,
- Abidemi Omonisi,
- Saad A. Ahmed,
- Emad A. Rakha,
- Padmashree Rida,
- Ritu Aneja
Affiliations
- Shristi Bhattarai
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Sergey Klimov
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Karuna Mittal
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Uma Krishnamurti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Xiaoxian (Bill) Li
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Gabriela Oprea-Ilies
- Department of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Ceyda Sonmez Wetherilt
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Ansa Riaz
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Mohammed A. Aleskandarany
- Nottingham Breast Cancer Research Centre, Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK
- Andrew R. Green
- Nottingham Breast Cancer Research Centre, Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK
- Ian O. Ellis
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Guilherme Cantuaria
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Northside Hospital Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA 30342, USA
- Meenakshi Gupta
- Department of Pathology, Piedmont Newnan Hospital, Newnan, GA 30265, USA
- Upender Manne
- Department of Translational Anatomic Physiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 3300, USA
- Johnson Agboola
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Brett Baskovich
- Department of Pathology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, AL 36688, USA
- Emiel A. M. Janssen
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Grace Callagy
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Elaine M. Walsh
- Discipline of Pathology, NUI Galway, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, Costello Road, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland
- Anurag Mehta
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Atika Dogra
- Research Department, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Delhi 110-085, India
- Tanuja Shet
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Pooja Gajaria
- Department of Pathology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai 400 012, India
- Tiffany Traina
- Department of Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 90710, USA
- Haruna A. Nggada
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Abidemi Omonisi
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Saad A. Ahmed
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Emad A. Rakha
- International Consortium for Advancing Research on Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Padmashree Rida
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- Ritu Aneja
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers11070995
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11,
no. 7
p. 995
Abstract
Background: The androgen receptor (AR) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for AR-positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, conflicting reports regarding AR’s prognostic role in TNBC are putting its usefulness in question. Some studies conclude that AR positivity indicates a good prognosis in TNBC, whereas others suggest the opposite, and some show that AR status has no significant bearing on the patients’ prognosis. Methods: We evaluated the prognostic value of AR in resected primary tumors from TNBC patients from six international cohorts {US (n = 420), UK (n = 239), Norway (n = 104), Ireland (n = 222), Nigeria (n = 180), and India (n = 242); total n = 1407}. All TNBC samples were stained with the same anti-AR antibody using the same immunohistochemistry protocol, and samples with ≥1% of AR-positive nuclei were deemed AR-positive TNBCs. Results: AR status shows population-specific patterns of association with patients’ overall survival after controlling for age, grade, population, and chemotherapy. We found AR-positive status to be a marker of good prognosis in US and Nigerian cohorts, a marker of poor prognosis in Norway, Ireland and Indian cohorts, and neutral in UK cohort. Conclusion: AR status, on its own, is not a reliable prognostic marker. More research to investigate molecular subtype composition among the different cohorts is warranted.
Keywords
