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.
MeSH terms
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Alternative Splicing
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Androgen Receptor Antagonists / pharmacology
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Androgen Receptor Antagonists / therapeutic use
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Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
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Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
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Female
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Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
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Hormones / metabolism
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Humans
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Molecular Targeted Therapy
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Mutation
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Protein Transport
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Receptor, ErbB-2 / genetics
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Receptor, ErbB-2 / metabolism
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Receptors, Androgen / genetics*
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Receptors, Androgen / metabolism*
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Receptors, Estrogen / genetics
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Receptors, Estrogen / metabolism
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Receptors, Progesterone / genetics
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Receptors, Progesterone / metabolism
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Treatment Outcome
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Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis
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Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy
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Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / genetics*
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Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / metabolism*
Substances
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Androgen Receptor Antagonists
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Antineoplastic Agents
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Hormones
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Receptors, Androgen
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Receptors, Estrogen
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Receptors, Progesterone
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Receptor, ErbB-2