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Androgen receptor is frequently expressed in HER2-positive, ER/PR-negative breast cancers

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Abstract

The estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR)-negative breast carcinomas (BCs) encompass three molecular subtypes: one with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER) overexpression, one normal like, and the triple negative. The androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in 70–90% of invasive BCs. The aim of our study is to detect the expression of AR in a series of ER/PR-negative BCs to ascertain if there is clinical significance in relation to BC molecular subtypes. A immunohistochemical study for all receptors and cytokeratin expression was performed in 232 cases of ER/PR-negative BCs. According to cytokeratin expression, BCs were classified into two groups: luminal-type BCs (44.2%) and basal-like-type BCs (55.8%). According to the expression of HER2, 59.3% were triple-negative BCs (when ER, PR, and HER2 were negative) and 40.7% were HER2-positive BCs. AR expression was observed in 128 tumors (56.6%). One hundred and ten cases (48.8%) had >10% and 18 (7.8%) had <10% of positively stained cells. AR immunoreactivity was found in 31.2% basal-like BCs, while in the luminal group 71.1% of cases were positive, showing highly significant correlation (p < 10−8). Regarding HER2 status, 76.7% of HER2-positive BC cases were AR positive compared with only 30.4% of triple-negative BC types, showing a strong statistically significant correlation. In conclusion, we show that AR is frequently expressed in ER/PR-negative BCs and that expression of HER2 and AR is highly correlated (p < 0.005). Our results point out the role of AR and HER2 in the pathogenesis of BCs and suggest the potential role of AR in clinical management of ER/PR-negative BCs.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomic Pathology, Multimedica IRCCS, Milan, Italy

    Donata Micello & Fausto Sessa

  2. Department of Human Morphology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy

    Alessandro Marando, Nora Sahnane, Cristina Riva, Carlo Capella & Fausto Sessa

  3. Department of Pathology, Multimedica IRCCS, Via Fantoli 16/15, 20138, Milan, Italy

    Fausto Sessa

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  1. Donata Micello
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  2. Alessandro Marando
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  3. Nora Sahnane
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  4. Cristina Riva
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  5. Carlo Capella
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  6. Fausto Sessa
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Correspondence to Fausto Sessa.

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This study has been in part supported by a grant from the University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.

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Micello, D., Marando, A., Sahnane, N. et al. Androgen receptor is frequently expressed in HER2-positive, ER/PR-negative breast cancers. Virchows Arch 457, 467–476 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-010-0964-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-010-0964-y

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