Expression of E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenins in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma

E-Cadherin and its associated cytoplasmic proteins, catenins, are important mediators of epithelial cell-cell adhesion and intracellular signaling. Much evidence exists suggesting a tumor invasion suppressor role for E-cadherin and catenins and loss of expression, as well as mutations, has been described in a number of epithelial cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of E-cadherin and catenins in pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissue, and to examine the relationship between these expression and various clinicopathological parameters.

In this study, we conducted an immunohistochemical investigation of expression of E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenins in 30 tissue samples obtained from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients undergoing surgical treatment.

In the pancreatic mucosa of noncancerous areas, epithelial cells showed equally strong membranous expression of E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenin proteins at the cell-cell boundaries. Reduced expression of E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenins was demonstrated in 60.0, 40.0, and 56.7% of cancer tissues, respectively. Reduced expression of E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenins correlated with tumor dedifferentiation (p = 0.012, 0.013, and 0.033, respectively). Reduced expression of E-cadherin correlated with stage and lymph node involvement (p = 0.031, 0.009, respectively). alpha-Catenin and beta-catenin expression did not correlate with the patient's age and sex, with the tumor size, location, stage and depth of invasion, or lymph node involvement and distant metastasis.

These results suggest that the E-cadherin and catenins may be a useful marker of differentiation and prognosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, although the mechanisms underlying changes in E-cadherin and catenin expression are not fully known.