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Table of Contents
Definition / general | Interpretation | Uses by pathologists | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive staining - normal | Positive staining - disease | Negative staining | Additional referencesCite this page: Androgen receptor. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/stainsandrogenreceptor.html. Accessed July 12th, 2017.
Definition / general
- Androgen receptor (AR) is a member of the superfamily of ligand responsive transcription regulators
- The androgen receptor functions in the nucleus where it is believed to act as a transcriptional regulator mediating the action of male sex hormones (androgens)
Interpretation
- Nuclear stain
Uses by pathologists
- Apocrine marker
- Breast carcinoma marker helpful in determining primary site of metastases
- Paget disease marker
- Sebaceous carcinoma marker; may help differentiate from squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas (Am J Clin Pathol 2010;134:22)
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on Pathout server:
Salivary gland low grade cribriform cystadenocarcinoma - negative for AR
Images hosted on other servers:
Breast: apocrine DCIS
Breast: apocrine metaplasia
Prostate carcinoma
metastatic to bone
Spindle cell lipoma
Images hosted on Nature.com:
Breast: various carcinomas
Breast: Paget disease
Positive staining - normal
- Skin apocrine and sebaceous glands (J Invest Dermatol 1991;97:264), prostate basal cells (J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 1992;41:693)
- Early male and female fetal gonads (Hum Reprod 2004;19:1659)
- Also oral mucosa
Positive staining - disease
- Breast: apocrine metaplasia (100%, J Clin Pathol 1999;52:838) apocrine DCIS (J Clin Pathol 2002;55:14) apocrine carcinoma (Jpn J Clin Oncol 2012;42:375, Case Rep Pathol 2013;2013:170918), cystic hypersecretory DCIS (Histopathology 2005;46:43), high grade DCIS, high grade invasive breast carcinoma (primary and metastatic), mammary and extramammary Paget disease (Mod Pathol 2005;18:1283), PASH spindle cells (Int J Clin Exp Pathol 2009;3:87), sebaceous carcinoma, tall cell-like tumors (Int J Surg Pathol 2006;14:79)
- Associated with better prognosis in all types of breast cancer, and better overall survival in ER+ tumors (PLoS One 2013;8:e82650)
- Nasal cavity: nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (75%, Mod Pathol 1998;11:1122, stromal cells in 38% Am J Clin Pathol 2006;125:832)
- Ovary: serous tumors (50%), Sertoli-Leydig tumor (Hum Pathol 1997;28:1206), ovarian surface epithelium (higher AR staining in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, J Ovarian Res 2013;6:85)
- Salivary glands: giant cell tumor, salivary duct carcinomas (Am J Clin Pathol 2003;119:801)
- Skin: Paget disease, sebaceous carcinoma (Am J Clin Pathol 2010;134:22)
- Soft tissue: desmoid tumor (53%, Tohoku J Exp Med 2006;210:189), spindle cell lipoma in men and most women (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2008;132:81)
- Uterus: adenosarcoma (35%), endometrial polyp with atypical features, endometrial stromal nodule, endometrium in polycystic ovarian syndrome. (Biol Reprod 2002;66:297), leiomyosarcoma (variable, Cancer 2004;101:1455, Tumour Biol 2011;32:451)
Negative staining
- Adenomatoid tumor, BRCA1 breast carcinomas, breast fibromatosis (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2000;124:276), neuroendocrine cells
Additional references
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