p63 isoforms in triple-negative breast cancer: ΔNp63 associates with the basal phenotype whereas TAp63 associates with androgen receptor, lack of BRCA mutation, PTEN and improved survival.
Further subtype analysis of TNBCs showed the highest amplification rate (42%) in the basal-like 1 subtype and the lowest amplification rate (9%) in the luminal androgen receptor subtype.
By examining the expression of AR in patients with TNBC, the aim of the present study is to explore the clinical significance of AR and provide evidence for AR-directed treatment in TNBC.
The aim of this study was to assess the combined immunohistochemical expression of CK 5/6, AR, and p53 as a potential prognostic marker of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with TNBC.
The purpose of this study was to determine if the imaging features of TNBCs differ by AR (androgen receptor) status, which is a surrogate immunohistochemical (IHC) marker for the chemoresistant LAR subtype of TNBC.
In this study, we evaluated the characteristics, clinical behaviour and role of biomarkers (androgen receptor (AR), oestrogen receptor beta (ERβ) and p53) in metastatic TNBC.
The combinations of high proliferation, metaplastic features, and immunohistochemical statuses of some EMT and basal-like markers and androgen receptor appeared to be able to characterize the TNBCs that showed cPD after NAC.
Although the exact role of AR in subsets of TNBC is still being characterized, new therapies that target AR and the production of androgens may provide additional options for patients with TNBC for whom chemotherapy is currently the sole treatment option.
Early data from clinical trials evaluating AR antagonists in invasive/metastatic triple-negative breast cancer suggest that some patients may benefit from androgen blockade.
Several molecular targets are being explored to target TNBC including androgen receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
A meta-analysis of public gene expression databases indicated that ACSL4 expression is positively correlated with a unique subtype of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by the absence of androgen receptor (AR) and therefore referred to as quadruple negative breast cancer (QNBC).
Androgen receptor has been associated with triple negative breast cancer pathogenesis, but its role in the different subtypes has not been clearly defined.
In particular, in ER-positive breast cancer, AR signaling often antagonizes the growth stimulatory effect of ER signaling; in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), AR seems to drive tumor progression (at least in luminal AR subtype of TNBC with a gene expression profile mimicking luminal subtypes despite being negative to ER and enriched in AR expression); in HER2-positive breast cancer, in the absence of ER expression, AR signaling has a proliferative role.
We demonstrated that combination of AR antagonist (bicalutamide) and PARP inhibitor (ABT-888) could inhibit cell viability and induce cell apoptosis significantly whatever in vitro or in vivo setting in AR-positive TNBC.