Consistent with the above, in vitro studies show that AR signaling inhibits the proliferation of ER + cells (i.e. MCF7 cell line) when induced by estrogens14–16, but other studies have shown that AR can promote the proliferation of ER- BC cells, particularly in cases classified as apocrine or luminal androgen receptor (LAR) molecular subtypes17,18. Here, ESR1 is linked to breast cancer.