Cytoplasmic LXR expression is an independent marker of poor prognosis for patients with early stage primary breast cancer

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of liver X receptors α/β (LXR) in primary breast cancer (BC) tissues and to analyze its correlations with clinicopathological parameters including patient survival. METHODS: In a well-characterized cohort of 305 primary BC, subcellular distribution of LXR was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Correlations with clinicopathological characteristics as well as with patient outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: LXR was frequently localized in both nuclei and cytoplasms of BC cells, with stronger staining in nuclei. Total and nuclear LXR expression was positively correlated with ER and PR status. Overall survival analysis demonstrated that cytoplasmic LXR was significantly correlated with poor survival and appeared as an independent marker of poor prognosis, in stage I but not in stage II–III tumors CONCLUSION: Altogether, these data suggest that cytoplasmic LXR could be defined as a prognostic marker in early stage primary BC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00432-021-03670-y.