Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Dec 1;25(12):4115-4122.
doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.12.4115.

Effect of Androgen receptors in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Given Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of Androgen receptors in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Given Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ottofianus Alvedo Hewick Kalangi et al. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. .

Abstract

Objective: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that does not express the estrogen receptor (ER), the progesterone receptor (PR), or the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). TNBC has limited treatment targets, including the androgen receptor (AR). However, the therapeutic strategies-based AR expression in TNBC remains uncertain. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of neoadjuvant treatment on TNBC androgen receptor-positive versus receptor-negative patients.

Methods: A systematic search was performed through databases to search for cohort studies that compared the effect of neoadjuvant treatment on TNBC androgen receptor-positive versus TNBC receptor-negative patients. The Mantel-Haenzel and Inverse Variance methods obtained a fixed-effects model of pooled odds or hazard ratios for the primary outcomes.

Results: Fifteen cohort studies, including 2,713 patients with TNBC, were assessed. The effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is less superior on AR+ patients than AR- (OR = 0.60, p = 0.02). For survival outcomes, the AR+ subtype is associated with better 3-year DFS (HR = 0.93, p = 0.69) and 3-year OS (HR = 0.71, p = 0.20) compared with AR-. The statistical value is insignificant.

Conclusion: The prognostic value of AR expression in TNBC is not fully understood, which is an inconclusive result.

Keywords: Androgen receptors; TNBC; neoadjuvant therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow Diagram
Figure 2
Figure 2
Funnel Plot
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest Plot for Pathologic Complete Response (pCR) of Androgen Receptor-Positive Compared with Androgen Receptor-Negative
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest Plot for Disease-Free Survival (DFS) of Androgen Receptor-Positive Compared with Androgen Receptor-Negative
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest Plot for Overall Survival (OS) of Androgen Receptor-Positive Compared with Androgen Receptor-Negative

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Brenton JD, Carey LA, Ahmed AA, Caldas C. Molecular Classification and Molecular Forecasting of Breast Cancer: Ready for Clinical Application? Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2005;23(29):7350–7360. - PubMed
    1. Gerratana L, Basile D, Buono G, et al. Androgen receptor in triple negative breast cancer: A potential target for the targetless subtype. Cancer Treat Rev. 2018;68:102–110. - PubMed
    1. Jiang HS, Kuang XY, Sun WL, et al. Androgen receptor expression predicts different clinical outcomes for breast cancer patients stratified by hormone receptor status. Oncotarget. 2106;7(27):41285–41293. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Safarpour D, Pakneshan S, Tavassoli FA. Androgen receptor (AR) expression in 400 breast carcinomas: is routine AR assessment justified? Am J Cancer Res. 2014;16(4):353–368. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mougalian SS, Soulos PR, Killelea BK, et al. Use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage I to III breast cancer in the United States. Cancer. 2015;121(15):2544–2552. - PubMed

MeSH terms