title: Prognostic value of cell adhesion in esophageal adenocarcinomas.
abstract: Increased understanding of the molecular processes associated with the dysplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence linked to Barrett's esophagus may be beneficial for early tumor detection and refined diagnosis as well as for improved prognostication. We applied immunohistochemical staining for the markers Ki-67, p53, beta-catenin and E-cadherin in order to evaluate their prognostic importance in 59 Barrett's esophagus-associated adenocarcinomas. Reduced or absent membranous E-cadherin staining was identified in 75% of the tumors and predicted poor prognosis in manova (hazard ratio [HR] 3.3, P = 0.05). The small subset of tumors with low levels (< 10%) of Ki-67 staining showed a worse prognosis (HR 3.2, P < 0.01), whereas immunostaining for p53 and beta-catenin showed no correlation with prognosis. Deranged cell adhesion has been demonstrated to be an early event in tumor development. The down-regulation of E-cadherin and its prognostic importance indicate that cell adhesion may be a prime area for targeted therapies in esophageal adenocarcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Falkenback
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nilbert
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oberg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology*; D000368:Aged; D015820:Cadherins / Q000032:analysis; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D051176:beta Catenin