Androgen receptors in breast cancer

Abstract

Androgen receptor assays have been performed on 1371 specimens of histologically confirmed primary and recurrent breast cancer. Forty‐two patients who had received tamoxifen as treatment for advanced disease were assessed for objective response. Another 42 patients who had received chemotherapy were similarly studied. Patients with androgen receptor‐negative tumors had a significantly poorer response rate to hormone therapy than those with receptor‐positive tumors (P < 0.05). This clinical correlation is supported by survival data of 1181 patients with primary breast cancer which showed that patients with androgen receptor‐negative tumors had a highly significant trend toward shorter overall survival than those with receptor‐positive tumors (P < 0.001). Androgen receptor data added significantly to the information provided by estrogen receptor data both in terms of response to hormone treatment and survival. Copyright © 1984 American Cancer Society