Abstract
Previous studies have reported that liver X receptor (LXR), ATP‑binding cassette sub‑family G number 1 (ABCG1) and ATP‑binding cassette transporter number 1 (ABCA1), which are associated with cholesterol metabolism, may be associated with the development and progression of breast cancer. The expression levels of LXR‑β, ABCA1 and ABCG1 in triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC) tissues and in non‑cancerous mammary tissues were observed by immunohistochemistry, quantum dot‑based immunohistochemistry, western blot analysis and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The present study identified that the expression of ABCA1 in TNBC tissues was higher than that in non‑cancerous mammary tissues. A high expression of ABCA1 in the TNBC tissues was significantly associated with the histological grade. However, no significant differences were identified between the expression levels of LXR‑β and ABCG1 in the TNBC tissues compared with the non‑cancerous mammary tissues. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that ABCA1 is a specific marker for TNBC.