Immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin and N-cadherin in endometrioid endometrial carcinoma and its precursor lesions

Objectives: Endometrial carcinoma (EC), majority being endometroid endometrial carcinoma (EEC), is the most common invasive gynecological cancer world-wide. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process that cells undergo to switch from a polarized epithelial phenotype to a motile mesenchymal phenotype. Loss of Ecadherin and expression of N-cadherin are a critical step for development and progression of malignant tumors. In present study we evaluated the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of E-cadherin and N-cadherin with clinicopathological parameters of EEC and its precursors lesions.Methods: It was a prospective nested case-control study involving women aged 35-70 years, whose endometrial biopsy were obtained for histological diagnosis. Signed informed consent was obtained before enrolling the women in the study, and the approval to conduct the study was obtained from the institutional ethics committee. The IHC was done to measure the E-cadherin and N-cadherin.Results: Reduced expression of E-cadherin was observed in 69% of cancer and 65% of precancer, however only 32% of normal proliferative endometrium showed reduced E-cadherin expression. N-cadherin expression was observed in 82% of EEC and 81% of precancer cases, while 11% of normal proliferative endometrium showed Ncadherin expression. Statistically significant downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of N-cadherin were observed in EEC and precancerous lesions as compared to normal control.Conclusion: Since downregulation of E-cadherin was also associated with upregulation of N-cadherin, the integration of immuno-expression of both E-cadherin and N-cadherin might offer a potential therapeutic target for EEC.