title: Androgen receptor expression in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: not a helpful marker for classification such as estrogen receptor alpha and progesterone receptor.
abstract: Androgen receptor (AR) is known to be expressed in approximately 70 to 90% of invasive breast cancers, but there are still conflicting data in terms of AR expression in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The aim of this study was to evaluate AR expression in DCIS and to compare these results with nuclear grading and with other common endocrine-related markers. On this basis the authors performed immunohistochemical staining for estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha and ER-beta, progesterone receptor (PR), pS2, her-2/neu, and AR in 59 cases of DCIS (24 low grade, 5 intermediate grade, 30 high grade). They found a strong correlation of expression of ER-alpha (P=0.003), PR (P<0.0001), and nuclear grading. For AR expression, 44.1% of all DCIS were positive, but there was no correlation between nuclear grading (P=0.535) and the expression of the other factors. The authors conclude that AR expression in DCIS is not correlated with nuclear grading and with the expression of other known endocrine-related markers such as ER-alpha and -beta, PR, pS2, and her-2/neu. The immunohistochemical assessment of AR status, therefore, may not help in providing a more objective way of classifying DCIS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany. achim.rody@em.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rody
authors.forename: Raihanatou
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poremba
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wuelfing
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kissler
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Solbach
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jackisch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D002285:Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating / Q000378:metabolism*; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone