Immunohistochemical evaluation of cadherin and catenin expression in early gastric carcinomas:: Correlation with clinicopathologic characteristics and Helicobacter pylori infection

Dysfunction of E-cadherin and eaten in has been linked to invasiveness and differentiation of tumors. This study aimed to characterize the expression of cadherins and catenins in early gastric carcinoma and their relationship to clinicopathologic characteristics and Helicobacter pylori infection. E-cadherin and alpha-, beta- and gamma -catenins were strongly expressed in normal epithelium but abnormal immunoreactivity of at least one of these four proteins was noted in 48 (90.6%) of 53 early gastric carcinomas. Only 5 cases with intestinal-type tumors had intact expression of E-cadherin and alpha-, beta-, and gamma -catenins. Abnormal immunoreactivity in the tumor tissue was observed in 18 patients (34.0%) for E-cadherin, in 35 (66.0%) for alpha -catenin, in 20 (37.7%) for beta -catenin, and in 37 (69.8%) for gamma -catenin. In diffuse-type tumors, abnormal expression of E-cadherin (60.9 vs. 13.3%, p < 0.0005), a-catenin (82.6 vs. 53.3%, p < 0.05) and gamma -catenin (91.3 vs. 53.3%, p < 0.005) was more frequent than in the intestinal type.