title: Prognostic value of androgen receptor in triple negative breast cancer: A meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Androgen receptor (AR) is a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer. However, its prognostic value remains controversial in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here we present a meta-analysis to investigate the correlation between AR expression and TNBC prognosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen relevant studies with 2826 TNBC patients were included. AR positive rate was 24.4%. AR+ patients tended to have lower tumor grade (p< 0.001), but more lymph node metastases (p < 0.01). AR positivity was associated with prolonged disease free survival (HR 0.809, 95% CI = 0.659-0.995, p < 0.05), but had no significant impact on overall survival (HR 1.270, 95% CI=0.904-1.782, p = 0.168). No difference in survival existed between subgroups using different AR or estrogen receptor cutoff values.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature search was performed in Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases to identify relevant articles on AR and TNBC prognosis. Fixed- and random-effect meta-analyses were conducted based on the heterogeneity of included studies. Heterogeneity and impacts of covariates were further evaluated by subgroup analyses and meta-regression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AR positivity is associated with lower risk of disease recurrence in TNBC. Further clinical studies are warranted to clarify its prognostic role on TNBC recurrence and survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Changjun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Hanjiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yidong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D017594:Publication Bias; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000032:analysis*; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: C410798:AR protein, human; D011944:Receptors, Androgen
keywords: androgen receptor; breast cancer; meta-analysis; prognostic value; triple negative breast cancer