Significance of E-cadherin expression in triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract

Purpose:Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype of breast cancer that is oestrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PR) negative, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative, has a poor prognosis. Although a correlation between E-cadherin expression level and outcome has been demonstrated among all types of breast cancer, little is known about the significance of E-cadherin expression levels in TNBC.Methods:A total of 574 patients who had undergone a resection of a primary breast cancer except for invasive lobular carcinomas were enrolled in this study. Expressions of ER, PR, HER2, and E-cadherin were assessed by immunohistochemistry. We examined the association between TNBC and other clinicopathological variables and evaluated the significance of the E-cadherin expression.Results:Among the 574 breast cancer cases, 123 (21.4%) revealed a triple-negative phenotype. Patients with TNBC experienced more frequent lymph node metastasis (P=0.024) and a poorer prognosis (P<0.001) in comparison with non-TNBC patients. Triple-negative breast cancer was an independent prognostic factor. Reduced levels of E-cadherin were observed in 238 (41.5%) of the 574 breast cancer cases. E-cadherin reduction was significantly frequent in cases of TNBC (P<0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.032). Furthermore, in the 123 TNBC cases, the prognosis of patients with an E-cadherin-negative expression was significantly worse than that of E-cadherin-positive patients (P=0.0265), especially for those in clinical stage II (P=0.002). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a reduction of the E-cadherin expression to be an independent prognostic factor (P=0.046).Conclusion:E-cadherin expression may be a useful prognostic marker for classifying subgroups of TNBC.

Eribulin Promotes Antitumor Immune Responses in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer

“…To evaluate PD-L1, PD-L2, and E-cadherin, three FOVs in darkly stained areas were selected, and the percentage of cancer cells stained with the corresponding antibody in each FOV was determined at a magnification of 400×. In accordance with a previous study (24), the median value of the mean of all three FOVs was determined; high expression was defined as expression in ≥10% of cells for PD-L1, PD-L2, and E-cadherin. Representative immunohistochemical slides are shown in Figure 1.…”

Genetic variations in the Hippo signaling pathway and breast cancer risk in African American women in the AMBER Consortium

“…Complete E-cadherin loss has been reported in 86% to 100% of invasive lobular breast cancer (46). Interestingly, E-cadherin reduction has been found in triple negative breast cancer patients with lymph node metastasis (47,48). Given the well established role of somatic changes in CDH1 in cancer invasion and metastasis, a number of studies have investigated the associations of CDH1 germline variants with risk of various human cancers.…”

Update on Immunohistochemical Analysis in Breast Lesions

“…71 Reduced E-cadherin expression may also have a role in the poor prognosis in TNBCs. 72 A semiquantitative H-score is a method for scoring biomarkers with nuclear staining, such as ER and PR. It provides an overall score (0-300) based on the sum of ordinal, weighted percentages of cells that stain weakly, moderately, and strongly.…”