Phenotypic characteristics of androgen receptor-positive cancer in the triple-negative breast cancer group

The aim of the paper is to reveal the phenotypic characteristics of androgen-receptor-positive breast cancer in triple-negative breast cancer. Materials and Methods. The authors analyzed clinical and morphological tumour data in 253 patients with morphologically verified invasive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The patients were treated at the Regional Clinical Oncologic Dispensary (Ulyanovsk) and the Breast Pathology Department of the National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology named after V.I. Kulakov (Moscow) from 2014 to 2021. Results. Statistical analysis of 45 patients (18 % of the total sample) showed that androgen receptor (AR) expression in TNBC was observed in patients older than 61 years (p=0.054). It was associated with a more common stage of the disease (starting with IIB) (p=0.004), multifocal growth pattern (p=0.025), invasive lobular cancer (p=0.04), higher tumor differentiation (p<0.0001), low Ki67 level (p=0.000001), and more frequent involvement of regional lymph nodes (p=0.005). At the same time, there were no statistically significant correlations between the AR expression and menstrual function, breast lesion quadrant, and pathomorphological response after neoadjuvant polychemotherapy. Conclusion. AR expression in TNBC occurs in patients over 61 years of age, with a locally advanced disease stage, a multifocal tumor growth pattern, an invasive lobular cancer, and well-differentiated tumors with low proliferative activity.