Prognostic value and clinicopathological significance of epithelial cadherin expression in non-small cell lung cancer

BackgroundEpithelial cadherin (E-cadherin), a calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecule, as an important adhesion and signaling pathway mediator plays key roles in the maintenance of tissue integrity. However, the available results of E-cadherin expression and its prognostic value on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain controversial. Therefore, a meta-analysis of published studies investigating the prognostic value of E-cadherin expression and its association with clinicopathological characteristics with NSCLC was performed. MethodsA literature search via PubMed, EMBASE, and MEDLINE (Ovid) databases was conducted. Data from eligible studies were extracted. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 12.0. ResultsA total of 2412 patients from 15 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that the pooled hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival was 0.55 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44-0.69) by univariate analysis and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.43-1.08) by multivariate analysis. In addition, the results showed a significant association between E-cadherin expression and the presence of lymph node metastasis (odds ratio = 0.37, 95% CI=0.05-0.69, P = 0.001). ConclusionOur study showed that positive expression of E-cadherin was associated with a favorable prognosis in patients with NSCLC, and might act as an inhibition factor of metastasis. However, adequately designed prospective studies are required to confirm this finding.