No association exists between E-cadherin gene polymorphism and tumor recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after transplantation.
BACKGROUND
E-cadherin is an epithelial cell adhesion molecule, and decreased E-cadherin expression in liver cancer is associated with poor prognosis. A -160 C-->A polymorphism in the promoter region of E-cadherin has been reported to decrease gene transcription. This allelic variation may be a potential genetic marker for identifying those individuals at higher risk for invasive/metastatic disease.


METHODS
The effect of E-cadherin gene polymorphism on risk of tumor recurrence was studied in 93 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation, and determined whether this polymorphism is a biomarker for the risk of tumor recurrence.


RESULTS
The genotype frequencies in the patients with recurrence were C/C: 0.667, C/A: 0.311, and A/A: 0.022, and in the patients without recurrence C/C: 0.604, C/A: 0.271 and A/A: 0.125. No significant difference was found between the two groups (P=0.171). Between -160 C-->A polymorphism and the clinicopathological data, there were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of the parameters as to age, gender, portal vein tumor thrombi, preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level, tumor size, or histopathological grading (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study show no association exists between the E-cadherin genotype and the risk of tumor recurrence in Chinese patients with HCC.
Li
Xiao-Dong
XD
Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-organ Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health; Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation Zhejiang Province, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China.
Wu
Li-Ming
LM
Xie
Hai-Yang
HY
Xu
Xiao
X
Zhou
Lin
L
Liang
Ting-Bo
TB
Wang
Wei-Lin
WL
Shen
Yan
Y
Zhang
Min
M
Zheng
Shu-Sen
SS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000209:etiology*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
D015820:Cadherins