Prognostic significance of E-cadherin and beta-catenin in resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
OBJECTIVE
E-cadherin and its associated intracellular molecules, catenins, are important for cell-cell adhesion. Impaired expression of these molecules are frequently observed in several cancers. E-cadherin and beta-catenin are often expressed in non-small cell lung cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the expressions of E-cadherin and beta-catenin and their significance as prognostic markers in pathological stage I non-small cell lung cancer.


METHODS
Paraffin embedded tumor tissue blocks were obtained from 141 patients who underwent resection without preoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy with pathological stage I non-small cell lung cancer. Tumor samples were prepared in tissue microarrays and they were stained by immunohistochemistry with antibodies against E-cadherin and beta-catenin. The expressions of E-cadherin and beta-catenin were analyzed with relation to the clinico-pathological data. The median follow-up period of the patients was 41 months (range, 2-88 months).


RESULTS
Preserved expressions of E-cadherin and beta-catenin were observed in the membrane and the cytoplasm of normal epithelial cells and tumor cells. Absent or reduced expression for E-cadherin and beta-catenin were observed in 60% and 45% of all the patients, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between E-cadherin and beta-catenin expression (P<0.01). Absent or reduced expression of E-cadherin was observed in 72.5%, 36.6%, and 60.0% of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, respectively. There was a significant decrease of E-cadherin expression in squamous cell carcinoma compared to adenocarcinoma (P<0.01). Patients with reduced expression of beta-catenin had poor recurrence free survival in adenocarcinoma, but not in squamous cell carcinoma.


CONCLUSIONS
Decreased expressions of E-cadherin and beta-catenin were closely correlated in resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer. Reduced expression of E-cadherin and beta-catenin indicates tumor cell dedifferentiation and reduced expression of beta-catenin had poor recurrence free survival in adenocarcinoma of the resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
Choi
Yong Soo
YS
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Shim
Young Mog
YM
Kim
Sang-Hui
SH
Son
Dae Soon
DS
Lee
Hye-Sook
HS
Kim
Gou Young
GY
Han
Joungho
J
Kim
Jhingook
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000032:analysis*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000379:methods; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000032:analysis*; D051176:beta Catenin
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051176:beta Catenin