Evaluation of Androgen Receptor Expression and Its Association with Clinicopathological Features in Iraqi Women with Breast Cancer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31351/vol35iss2pp180-187Keywords:
Androgen receptor, Breast cancer, Iraqi womenAbstract
Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide. Regarding the androgen receptor's existence as a likely prognostic indicator, there has been interest in its relationship with various molecular markers such as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu), as well as its association with clinicopathological features and therapeutic targets. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of AR and its association with clinicopathological features in Iraqi women who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. We retrospectively analyzed AR expression using immunohistochemistry from 96 tissue samples of breast cancer patients between February 2024 and January 2025. The association of AR with clinicopathological parameters, including age, tumor size, lymph node involvement, distant metastases, TNM stage, histological grade, molecular subtype, ER status, PR status, and HER2 status, was assessed. Tumors with at least 10% nuclear-stained cells were classified as positive for AR. The association between AR expression and other factors was determined using a chi-square test in SPSS. Approximately 63 (65.6%) of the 96 individuals were AR-positive. No significant association was found between AR expression and clinicopathological factors (P >0.05). In conclusion, while AR is expressed in 65.6% of breast cancer patients, there is no significant association with conventional clinicopathological characteristics. This indicates that AR has limited prognostic value in this population. However, its high expression necessitates additional research into its biological significance and potential as a therapeutic target in some breast cancer subtypes.
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