Takagi Kiyoshi, Yamaguchi Mio, Miyashita Minoru, Sasano Hironobu, Suzuki Takashi
Department of Pathology and Histotechnology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgical Oncology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Endocr Oncol. 2022 Aug 22;2(1):R102-R111. doi: 10.1530/EO-22-0048. eCollection 2022 Jan.
Breast cancer is a hormone-dependent cancer, and sex steroids play a pivotal role in breast cancer progression. Estrogens are strongly associated with breast cancers, and the estrogen receptor (estrogen receptor α; ERα) is expressed in 70-80% of human breast carcinoma tissues. Although antiestrogen therapies (endocrine therapies) have significantly improved clinical outcomes in ERα-positive breast cancer patients, some patients experience recurrence after treatment. In addition, patients with breast carcinoma lacking ERα expression do not benefit from endocrine therapy. The androgen receptor (AR) is also expressed in >70% of breast carcinoma tissues. Growing evidence supports this novel therapeutic target for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers that lack ERα, progesterone receptor, and human EGF receptor 2, and ERα-positive breast cancers, which are resistant to conventional endocrine therapy. However, the clinical significance of AR expression is still controversial and the biological function of androgens in breast cancers is unclear. In this review, we focus on the recent findings concerning androgen action in breast cancers and the contributions of androgens to improved breast cancer therapy.
乳腺癌是一种激素依赖性癌症，性类固醇在乳腺癌进展中起关键作用。雌激素与乳腺癌密切相关，雌激素受体（雌激素受体α；ERα）在70%-80%的人类乳腺癌组织中表达。尽管抗雌激素疗法（内分泌疗法）显著改善了ERα阳性乳腺癌患者的临床结局，但一些患者在治疗后仍会复发。此外，缺乏ERα表达的乳腺癌患者无法从内分泌治疗中获益。雄激素受体（AR）也在超过70%的乳腺癌组织中表达。越来越多的证据支持将其作为治疗缺乏ERα、孕激素受体和人表皮生长因子受体2的三阴性乳腺癌以及对传统内分泌治疗耐药的ERα阳性乳腺癌的新治疗靶点。然而，AR表达的临床意义仍存在争议，雄激素在乳腺癌中的生物学功能尚不清楚。在本综述中，我们重点关注近期关于雄激素在乳腺癌中的作用以及雄激素对改善乳腺癌治疗的贡献的研究发现。
