Correlation of Androgen Receptor Expression With Ki67 Proliferative Index and Other Clinicopathological Characteristics in Invasive Mammary Carcinomas

Introduction The clinical importance of androgen receptor (AR) status in breast cancer is uncertain. The existing knowledge regarding the association of androgen receptor expression with clinicopathological factors of breast cancer is also limited. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the AR expression in breast cancer and to correlate it with the Ki67 proliferative index and other clinicopathological prognostic factors. Methods The expression of AR was evaluated in 192 invasive mammary carcinoma cases and the expression patterns were correlated with various clinicopathological prognostic factors such as age, tumor size, pathological primary tumor (pT) stage, nodal status, histological grade, estrogen receptor (ER) expression, progesterone receptor (PgR) expression, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) status, molecular subtype, and Ki67 labeling index. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess AR, ER, PgR, Her2, and Ki67 expression. The clinicopathological data required for the analysis were obtained from the laboratory information system. Results Out of the 192 breast carcinoma cases, 139 (72.4%) showed AR-positive expression. The average age of the AR-positive cases was slightly higher than the AR-negative cases. AR-positive tumors tended to have a lower histological grade and positive ER and PgR expression. The expression of AR did not correlate with tumor size, pT stage, nodal status, Her2 status, and Ki67 labeling index. Conclusion The expression of AR is noted in a significant proportion of breast carcinoma cases. AR expression may be related to good prognostic factors such as ER expression, PgR expression, and lower histologic grade. We also observed that AR expression did not have any association with the Ki67 proliferative index.