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23-07-2015 | Triple-negative breast cancer | Article

Androgen Receptor Biology in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: a Case for Classification as AR+ or Quadruple Negative Disease

Journal: Hormones and Cancer

Authors: Valerie N. Barton, Nicholas C. D’Amato, Michael A. Gordon, Jessica L. Christenson, Anthony Elias, Jennifer K. Richer

Publisher: Springer US

Abstract

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype that lacks estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification. Due to the absence of these receptors, TNBC does not respond to traditional endocrine or HER2-targeted therapies that improve patient prognosis in other breast cancer subtypes. TNBC has a poor prognosis, and currently, there are no effective targeted therapies. Some TNBC tumors express androgen receptor (AR) and may benefit from AR-targeted therapies. Here, we review the literature on AR in TNBC and propose that TNBC be further sub-classified as either AR+ TNBC or quadruple negative breast cancer since targeting AR may represent a viable therapeutic option for a subset of TNBC.

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Medicine Matters Oncology

Abstract