Expression of E-cadherin, CD44s, and CD44v6 in laryngeal and pharyngeal carcinomas

Tumors arising from different sites of the head and neck area have very different clinical behavior. Loss or reduction of expression of adhesion molecules has been assumed to play a critical role in the development of head and neck carcinomas. The aim of this study is to determine if there are differences in the expression of adhesion molecules E-cadherin, CD44s, and CD44v6 in pharyngeal and laryngeal squamous-cell carcinomas.

E-cadherin, CD44s, and CD44v6 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 72 patients with squamous-cell carcinoma, 37 of the pharynx and 35 of the larynx.

Expression of CD44s was significantly lower in pharyngeal than in laryngeal tumors (P =.01). No differences in the expression of E-cadherin and CD44v6 were observed between these sites.

These data suggest that there are some differences at molecular level between the different subsites of head and neck cancer.