Clinical Significance of E-cadherin and beta-catenin Complex Expression in T2 Colorectal Cancer

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Expression of adhesion molecules is significantly correlated with the invasion and the metastasis of colorectal cancer. The aim of this study is to identify the importance of the expressions of E-cadherin and beta-catenin as a prognostic factor in T2 colorectal cancer. METHODS: Forty-five cases of primary T2 colorectal cancers were selected between February 1997 and February 2000. We evaluated the membranous expressions of E-cadherin and beta-catenin by using immunohistochemisty and analyzed the relationship with various clinicopathologic parameters. RESULTS: Loss of membranous E-cadherin was significantly associated with histologic differentiation (P=0.023), vascular invasion (P<0.001), lymphatic invasion (P<0.001), and lymph-node metastases (P=0.001). Similar patterns were observed in the expression of beta-catenin. The correlation between the E-cadherin and the beta-catenin expressions was statistically significant (P<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, neither the loss of expression of E-cadherin nor beta-catenin is a risk factor affecting lymph-node metastasis in T2 colorectal cancers. However, there were significant differences in the 5-year disease-free survival rates between the positive (+/-, +) and the negative (-) expression groups of E-cadherin and beta-catenin (P=0.015, 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that loss of membranous expression of E-cadherin and beta-catenin molecules correlates with poor prognostic factors and indicates invasion and metastasis in T2 colorectal cancer, which, therefore, might be predictive of short survival in these patients.