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Cadherin expression in glandular tumors of the cervix
Author(s) -
Han Aaron C.,
Edelson Mitchell I.,
Peralta Soler Alejandro,
Knudsen Karen A.,
LifschitzMercer Beatriz,
Czernobilsky Bernard,
Rosenblum Norman G.,
Salazar Hernando
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(20001115)89:10<2053::aid-cncr4>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - cadherin , cervix , pathology , immunohistochemistry , adenocarcinoma , medicine , malignant transformation , adenoma , cancer , biology , cell , genetics
BACKGROUND The cadherins are homotypic adhesion proteins that are important in cell sorting during organogenesis. Classic cadherins include several different types that show tissue specific expression. Specific tissue expression of cadherins often is preserved in neoplastic transformation, and cadherin phenotype can be used to differentiate morphologically similar but histogenetically distinct tumors. METHODS The authors examined by using immunohistochemistry in paraffin sections the expression of E‐ (epithelial) and P‐ (placental) cadherin in 39 patients with glandular tumors of the cervix, including invasive adenocarcinoma, villoglandular adenocarcinoma, adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), and adenoma malignum. RESULTS In all cases, E‐cadherin was expressed in both normal and malignant glands without appreciable differences. P‐cadherin, normally confined to basal epithelial cells and not observed in benign glands, was aberrantly expressed in neoplastic glands in 27 cases, including 96%(23 of 24 cases) of invasive cancers, 40% (2 of 5) of villoglandular carcinomas, 25% (2 of 8) of AIS, and 0% (0 of 2) of adenoma malignum. CONCLUSIONS The authors' results show that E‐cadherin is uniformly expressed in glandular tumors of the cervix with no evidence of decreased expression in these tumors. In addition, P‐cadherin is aberrantly expressed in most adenocarcinomas and appears to be preferentially expressed in invasive rather than in situ lesions. Thus, aberrant expression of P‐cadherin may be a useful marker of invasive or aggressive clinical behavior in glandular lesions of the cervix. Cancer 2000;89:2053–8. © 2000 American Cancer Society.