ABSTRACT
Objective To study the relationship between the expression of E-cadherin and the development, invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma. Methods The expressions of E-cadherin in 58 cases with esophgeal carcinoma and 122 other cases with esophageal epithelial disease were examined by immunohistochemical technique. The relation between the expression of E-cadherin in esophageal carcinoma and the clinical pathological characteristics of esophageal carcinoma were analyzed. Results The expression rate of E-cadherin gene protein in esophageal squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma was 22.0%(11/50), 25.0%(2/8), respectively, compared with the normal group (100%, 20/20) and simple atypical hyperplastic group (92.9%, 26/28). The difference was significant (P