Dual Functions of Androgen Receptor Overexpression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Complex Prognostic Marker.

A subset of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) expresses the androgen receptor (AR), but thresholds for AR positivity and its clinical significance vary. We hypothesize that objective assessment outperforms subjective methods, and that high AR negatively impacts prognosis. In a population-based TNBC cohort ( = 198) with long follow-up (4-383 months), AR expression was evaluated via subjective scoring (AR-Manual) and automated digital image analysis (AR-DIA).

The Ki67 dilemma: investigating prognostic cut-offs and reproducibility for automated Ki67 scoring in breast cancer.

Purpose: Quantification of Ki67 in breast cancer is a well-established prognostic and predictive marker, but inter-laboratory variability has hampered its clinical usefulness. This study compares the prognostic value and reproducibility of Ki67 scoring using four automated, digital image analysis (DIA) methods and two manual methods.

Methods: The study cohort consisted of 367 patients diagnosed between 1990 and 2004, with hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative, lymph node negative breast cancer.