Utility of E-Cadherin as a Prognostic Marker in Oral and Cervical Squamous Cell Neoplastic Lesions

Abstract

Introduction: E-cadherin is a glycoprotein cell adhesion molecule, which is important for maintenance of epithelial integrity and its loss is a useful biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of preneoplastic and neoplastic squamous cell lesions. Aim: To evaluate and compare the expression of E-cadherin in oral and cervical premalignant and malignant squamous cell lesions. Materials and Methods: A total of 66 specimens (nine normal, 32 premalignant and 25 malignant) were obtained from oral cavity and cervix including 41 female and 25 male patients, which were divided into Group-I (control), Group-II (premalignant) and Group-III (malignant). Tumour grading and staging was performed. Immunohistochemical staining was done using monoclonal mouse antibody, E-cadherin as per manufacturer’s instruction. Analysis was performed using SPSS software version 17.0. Results: E-cadherin expression showed significantly (p=0.006) higher grades of expression in Group-I as compared to Group II and group III. Expression of E-cadherin was homogenous with membranous pattern in 100% cases of group I and was found in basal and parabasal layers of epithelium. Among group III, welldifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma showed strong staining (++) in 92.3% of cases as compared to moderately/poorly differentiated tumours (16.7% of cases). As tumour become poorly differentiated, cytoplasmic staining was predominant pattern in 50% of cases of moderately/poorly differentiated tumour. Overall comparison of E-cadherin expression between oral and cervix lesions showed insignificant difference (p>0.05). Conclusion: E-cadherin expression was found to inversely correlate with the loss of cell differentiation. It can be used as prognostic marker for both oral and cervical premalignant and malignant squamous cell lesions.

Keywords

• cervix
• squamous cell carcinoma
• tumour