ArticleBMC cancer2020
Androgen Receptor mRNA levels determine the prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer patients.
Article in BMC cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- TFAP2B and FOXC1 are associated with biologically and clinically distinct differentiation states in triple-negative breast cancer.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Predictive value of androgen receptor in distant metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer: a retrospective multi-center study.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Genetic implications of PSMA expression variability in breast cancer subtypes with a focus on triple-negative breast cancer.Journal of applied genetics · 2024Article
- Targeting androgen receptor (AR) with a synthetic peptide increases apoptosis in triple negative breast cancer and AR-expressing prostate cancer cell lines.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Kinesin Family Member C1 (KIFC1/HSET) Underlies Aggressive Disease in Androgen Receptor-Low and Basal-Like Triple-Negative Breast Cancers.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Androgen Receptor Is Expressed in the Majority of Breast Cancer Brain Metastases and Is Subtype-Dependent.Cancers · 2023Article
- Molecular Features of Androgen-Receptor Low, Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancers in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study.Research square · 2023Article
- Androgen Receptor: A New Marker to Predict Pathological Complete Response in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Trastuzumab Plus Pertuzumab Neoadjuvant Therapy.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- Intrinsic Subtypes and Androgen Receptor Gene Expression in Primary Breast Cancer. A Meta-Analysis.Biology · 2021Review
- Obesity and Androgen Receptor Signaling: Associations and Potential Crosstalk in Breast Cancer Cells.Cancers · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnti-Androgen Receptor (AR) therapy holds promise for a subset of AR expressing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. However, current AR assays are suboptimal in detecting the dynamic range of AR expression, contributing to its controversial role in TNBC disease prognosis. This study is aimed at evaluating the feasibility of qRT-PCR to sensitively and robustly detect AR mRNA levels for prognostication.
methodsmRNA expression profiling was performed on FFPE blocks from a retrospective cohort of 101 TNBC patients using qRT-PCR and compared with AR protein expression by immunohistochemistry . Statistical analyses included Spearman's rank correlation, Chi-square and Kaplan-Meier analyses. Distant Metastasis Free Survival was used as the end point in survival analysis.
resultsAR mRNA expression was observed in 34/101 patients (34%) whereas 12/80 cases (15%) were positive by IHC. qRT-PCR could thus detect more AR positive patients as compared to IHC, with 75% (9/12) concordance between the two methods. Co-expression of GATA3 and FOXA1 mRNA was observed in 85 and 88% of AR mRNA positive tumors, respectively. AR mRNA positivity was significantly correlated with age at disease onset (p = 0.02), high FOXA1/GATA3 (p < 0.05) and distant recurrence. AR mRNA positive patients had poorer DMFS (43%; p = 0.002). DMFS dropped further to 26% (p = 0.006) in AR (+)/high FOXA1/GATA3 patients. AR mRNA expression together with node positivity had the worst DMFS (23%; p < 0.0001) compared to patients who were either positive for any one of these, or negative for both AR and node status. Low Ki67 mRNA with AR mRNA positivity also had poorer DMFS (39%; p = 0.001) compared to patients expressing low Ki67 with no AR mRNA expression.
conclusionqRT-PCR was more sensitive and reliable in detecting the dynamic expression levels of AR compared to IHC and this variation could be explained by the higher sensitivity of the former method. High AR mRNA expression was strongly associated with expression of AR protein, high FOXA1/GATA3 mRNA, and with poor prognosis. qRT-PCR was more efficient in detecting the AR positive cases compared to IHC. A distinct signature involving high GATA3/FOXA1, low Ki67, and node positivity in AR mRNA positive tumors correlated with poor prognosis. Thus, AR mRNA screening can serve as an effective prognostic marker along with offering potential targeted therapy options for TNBC.
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