ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the association between expression of the epithelial?to?mesenchymal transition(EMT)biomarkers and the malignant progression of gastric cancer in primary tumors and metastases and their possible correlation with progression of gastric cancer(GC). Methods The EMT biomarkers including E?cadherin,β?catenin,N?cadherin,Snail and TGF?β1 were detected by immunohistochemical method for 145 cases of gastric cancer(GC),25 cases of abnormal hyperplasia,13 cases of intestinal metaplasia,42 cases of lymph node metastasis and 40 cases of normal gastric mucosa tissues. Results Positive rates of TGF?β1,Snail,E?cadherin,β?catenin and N?cadherin were 73.5%,65.5%, 14.5%,53.1%and 35.9%,respectively,in gastric cancer tissues and 100%,100%,0%,27.5%and 2.5%,respectively,in normal gastric tissues, with a significant difference between the two groups(P<0.05). The decreased expression of E?cadherin andβ?catenin and the increased expression of TGF?β1 were related to the depth of invasion of gastric cancer(P<0.05). The expression of E?cadherin was correlated positively with the expres?sion ofβ?catenin,but negatively with the expression of TGF?β1. Whereas,the expression of N?cadherin was correlated positively with the expression of TGF?β1(P<0.05). The expression of E?cadherin andβ?catenin in lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that in gastric cancer tis?sues,while the expression of TGF?β1 was lower than in gastric cancer tissues(P<0.05). Conclusion The increased expression of TGF?β1 and Snail and the decreased expression of E?cadherin,β?catenin,and N?cadherin are involved in the processes of invasion and metastasis of GC. The transformation of E?cadherin to N?cadherin and the expression of TGF?β1 may play an important role in the development of GC. In lymph node me?tastasis,the phenomenon of mesenchymal?to?epithelial transition(MET)occurs.