Decreased E-cadherin expression is associated with haematogenous recurrence and poor prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus

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Abstract
Reduced expression of E‐cadherin is associated with tumour invasiveness and metastasis. To elucidate whether E‐cadherin expression correlates with clinical outcome in patients with oesophageal cancer, 62 patients were investigated immunohistochemically using an anti‐E‐cadherin monoclonal antibody (HECD‐1). Eight patients had normal levels of expression in the tumour, 25 had tumours that expressed high levels (50 per cent or more tumour cells staining positive for E‐cadherin) and 29 had tumours expressing low levels (less than 50 per cent of cells expressing E‐cadherin). Patients with normally expressing tumours had a better prognosis at 3 years than those with low‐expressing tumours (P < 0·05). Postoperative death was correlated significantly with lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, E‐cadherin expression and depth of invasion (P < 0·05). Furthermore, haematogenous recurrence was correlated with E‐cadherin expression (rs = 0·38, P < 0·01) and blood vessel invasion (rs = 0·28, P < 0·05). These results suggest that evaluation of E‐cadherin immunoreactivity may predict haematogenous recurrence and poor prognosis in patients with oesophageal cancer.
Funding Information
  • Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (05 671 062)