THE CLINICAL-SIGNIFICANCE OF ANDROGEN RECEPTORS IN BREAST-CANCER AND THEIR RELATION TO HISTOLOGICAL AND CELL BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS

To analyse the clinical significance of the presence of androgen recep tors (AR) in breast carcinomas, clinical and histological parameters o f 153 primary breast carcinomas (median follow-up 46 months) were exam ined. Oestrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels were determ ined in cytosol preparations using enzyme immunoassay assays and in cr yostat sections by immunohistochemistry. AR and Ki-67 levels were only determined immunohistochemically. Data were analysed by uni- and mult ivariate models. 94/153 (61%) breast carcinomas were ER+ PR+ AR+, whil e 14 cases were only positive for AR. All grade III tumours (n = 17) w ere steroid receptor negative and 14 (76%) of these cases demonstrated high Ki-67 values suggestive of more aggressive behaviour. Strikingly , 14 ductal carcinomas negative for ER and PR were positive for AR. In univariate analysis, AR as well as ER, tumour size, lymph node status , grade and Ki-67 proved to be significant prognostic factors for dise ase-free survival (DFS). Multivariate analysis, however, showed lymph node status, tumour size and ER status to be the only independent prog nostic factors for DFS within this model. We conclude that simple hist ological and cell biological parameters, including AR, can be used to select high- and low-risk patients at the time of primary surgery and can provide valuable information on treatment options. Copyright (C) 1 996 Elsevier Science Ltd