E-cadherin expression in prostate adenocarcinomas in Chinese and its pathological correlates

Introduction: We examined the E-cadherin expression in prostate adenocarcinomas in Chinese to correlate this immunohistochemical marker with histopathological features. Materials and Methods: Primary adenocarcinomas from 122 radical prostatectomy specimens were stained using anti-E-cadherin (HECD-1) antibody. The association of E-cadherin expression with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), pathological stage and Gleason score was assessed by Kendall's tau-b test. Results: Aberrant E-cadherin expression was identified in 79 tumors (64.8%). Abnormal E-cadherin expression did not correlate to serum PSA (p = 0.802), tumor stage (p = 0.684) and Gleason score ( p = 0.385). Conclusions: The frequency of aberrant E-cadherin expression was higher in prostate adenocarcinomas of Chinese as compared to that reported in Caucasians. No association with pathological stage, Gleason score and serum PSA was identified. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.