RESUMO
Objective: To investigate the relationship between tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and the androgen receptor (AR) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-positive breast cancer. Methods: Specimens of 448 patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer from the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital between March 2018 and November 2018 were collected. TILs were pathologically evaluated. AR expression was immunohistochemically analyzed. The relationships among TILs, the AR, and clinicopathological parameters were determined. Results: There were 38.2% (171/448) patients with TILs non/low-infiltrated, 42.2% (189/448) with moderately infiltrated, and 19.6% (88/448) with high infiltration. AR was positive in 62.7%(281/448) of the patients. Spearman correlation analysis showed that TILs and the AR were negatively related (r=-0.140, P=0.003). TILs were significantly associated with the AR in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer (P=0.009). Conclusions: TILs and the AR were negatively related in HER-2-positive breast cancer, indicating that HER-2-positive breast cancer can be treated according to the different infiltration levels of TILs and AR expression.