Background/Aim: Lung cancer is the first cause of cancer related deaths in both males and females. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a reversible process by which epithelial cells transform to mesenchymal stem cells by losing their cell polarity and cell-to-cell adhesion, gaining migratory and invasive properties. High levels of E-cadherin are expressed in epithelial cells, whereas mesenchymal cells express high levels of N-cadherin, fibronectin and vimentin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between E-cadherin and vimentin expression and their clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: The immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin, vimentin and Ki-67 was performed on tissue microarrays from NSCLC specimens obtained from 112 newly-diagnosed cases and were studied using classical pathological evaluation. Associations between E-cadherin, vimentin and Ki-67 expression, clinicopathological variables and survival were analyzed. In all cases, a value of p=0.05 was considered significant. Results: Low E-cadherin expression was significantly correlated with tumor necrosis (p=0.019). Moreover, there was a trend for correlation between high E-cadherin expression and better overall survival (hazard ratio=1.02, and 95% confidence interval=0.45-1.87, p=0.091). There was also a significant negative correlation between vimentin expression and overall survival (hazard ratio=1.13, and 95% confidence interval=0.78-1.65, p=0.026). Additionally, there was a significant negative correlation between vimentin expression and grade I tumors (p=0.031). Finally, a positive correlation trend between vimentin expression and Ki-67 was found (p=0.073). Conclusion: High E-cadherin and low vimentin expression correlate with better prognosis and overall survival.
CITATION STYLE
Tsoukalas, N., Aravantinou-Fatorou, E., Tolia, M., Giaginis, C., Galanopoulos, M., Kiakou, M., … Theocharis, S. (2017). Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in non small-cell lung cancer. Anticancer Research, 37(4), 1773–1778. https://doi.org/10.21873/anticanres.11510
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