title: [Expression of E-cadherin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its relationship with cervical lymph node metastasis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the expression of E-cadherin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its relationship with cervical lymph node metastasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression of E-cadherin in 80 patients with NPC was detected by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lower expression of E-cadherin was associated with advanced N-stage of the tumor (P = 0.018). There was no significant correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and lymph node size (P = 0.435). The expression of E-cadherin was higher in patients with cervical lymph node metastasis limited to a single area than that distributing in some scattered areas (P = 0.000). There was a trend that the expression of E-cadherin in the cases with the tumor and lymph nodes in the same side was higher (56.5%) than that in the patients with bilateral lymph node metastases (32.6%), however, the difference was not significant (P = 0.059). The expression rates of E-cadherin in patients with lymph node metastasis in levels II, III and Va were higher than that in levels I, IV, Vb and VI, but with a non-significant difference (P = 0.059).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The expression of E-cadherin has influence on the lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. E-cadherin expression is negatively correlated with the numbers of the lymph node metastases and the metastasis distance, i.e. a lower expression of E-cadherin leads to an advanced N-stage. The lymph node metastasis of nasopharyngeal cancer from above to below is more considerably influenced by E-cadherin expression than the metastasis towards contralateral lymph nodes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical Univercity, Shijiazhuang 050011, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ya-di
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shang-Hua
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Xiao-Ling
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yun-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Feng-Peng
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins