Association of androgen receptor expression with glucose metabolic features in triple-negative breast cancer.

Abstract

BackgroundAndrogen receptor (AR) is a potential therapeutic target in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We aimed to elucidate the association of AR expression with glucose metabolic features in TNBC.MethodsTwo independent datasets were analyzed: FDG PET data of our institution and a public dataset of GSE135565. In PET analysis, patients with TNBC who underwent pretreatment PET between Jan 2013 and Dec 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. Clinicopathologic features and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of tumors were compared with AR expression. In GSE135565 dataset, glycolysis score was calculated by the pattern of glycolysis-related genes, and of which association with SUVmax and AR gene expression were analyzed.ResultsA total of 608 female patients were included in the PET data of our institution. SUVmax was lower in AR-positive tumors (P ConclusionsLow glucose metabolism is a signature of AR expression in TNBC. It is suggested that evaluation of AR expression status needs to be considered in clinical practice particularly in TNBC with low glucose metabolism.