Higashi Kotaro, Ueda Yoshimichi, Shimasaki Miyako, Ishigaki Yasuhito, Nakamura Yuka, Oguchi Manabu, Takegami Tsutomu, Watanabe Naoto
Department of Radiology, Asanogawa General Hospital, 83 Kosakamachi-Naka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-8621, Japan.
Department of Pathology, Kanazawa Medical University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
Ann Nucl Med. 2017 Oct;31(8):590-595. doi: 10.1007/s12149-017-1187-y. Epub 2017 Jul 4.
E-cadherin is a main cell-to-cell adhesion molecule. A negative expression of E-cadherin correlates with distant metastasis in lung cancer. Recently, it was reported that there is an association between FDG uptake on PET and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in non-small cell lung cancer. Downregulation of E-cadherin is one of the best markers of EMT. The purpose of this study was to compare E-cadherin expression with FDG uptake on PET, cell differentiation, aggressiveness and post-operative recurrence in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and to investigate whether FDG uptake on PET is associated with E-cadherin expression.
We retrospectively reviewed 40 lung adenocarcinoma patients who underwent thoracotomy and FDG PET before thoracotomy. These patients were evaluated FDG PET metrics such as standardized uptake value (SUV), the immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin in surgical specimens, clinicopathological features, including tumor size, pathologic stage, cell differentiation, aggressiveness and post-operative recurrence.
High FDG uptake correlated with negative E-cadherin expression (P = 0.043). SUV was higher in a negative E-cadherin expression lung adenocarcinoma than in a positive E-cadherin expression lung adenocarcinoma (P = 0.033). Patients with moderately poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma had frequent negative E-cadherin expression or high FDG uptake (P = 0.004, P = 0.0001, respectively). Patients with aggressive adenocarcinoma had frequent negative E-cadherin expression or high FDG uptake (P = 0.004, P = 0.001, respectively). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that negative E-cadherin expression or high FDG uptake were strongly correlated with shortened disease-free survival (P = 0.0153, P = 0.0001, respectively).
High FDG uptake on PET was associated with negative E-cadherin expression in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Both high FDG uptake and negative E-cadherin expression were strongly correlated with poor differentiation, aggressiveness, and post-operative recurrence. These findings may cause the association between high FDG uptake and negative E-cadherin expression.
E-钙黏蛋白是一种主要的细胞间黏附分子。E-钙黏蛋白的阴性表达与肺癌的远处转移相关。最近，有报道称非小细胞肺癌中PET上的氟代脱氧葡萄糖（FDG）摄取与上皮-间质转化（EMT）之间存在关联。E-钙黏蛋白的下调是EMT的最佳标志物之一。本研究的目的是比较肺腺癌患者中E-钙黏蛋白表达与PET上的FDG摄取、细胞分化、侵袭性及术后复发情况，并研究PET上的FDG摄取是否与E-钙黏蛋白表达相关。
我们回顾性分析了40例行开胸手术且术前接受FDG PET检查的肺腺癌患者。对这些患者评估了FDG PET指标，如标准化摄取值（SUV）、手术标本中E-钙黏蛋白的免疫组化表达、临床病理特征，包括肿瘤大小、病理分期、细胞分化、侵袭性及术后复发情况。
FDG高摄取与E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达相关（P = 0.043）。E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达的肺腺癌患者的SUV高于E-钙黏蛋白阳性表达的肺腺癌患者（P = 0.033）。中低分化腺癌患者E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达或FDG高摄取较为常见（分别为P = 0.004，P = 0.0001）。侵袭性腺癌患者E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达或FDG高摄取较为常见（分别为P = 0.004，P = 0.001）。Kaplan-Meier分析显示，E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达或FDG高摄取与无病生存期缩短密切相关（分别为P = 0.0153，P = 0.0001）。
肺腺癌患者PET上的FDG高摄取与E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达相关。FDG高摄取和E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达均与低分化、侵袭性及术后复发密切相关。这些发现可能揭示了FDG高摄取与E-钙黏蛋白阴性表达之间的关联。
