Expression of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Correlation with cancer invasion and metastasis.

Cadherins form complexes with groups of cytoplasmic proteins, such as alpha-, beta-, and gamma-catenins, that link the cadherin molecule to the cytoskeleton. In this study, we conducted an immunohistochemical investigation of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin expression in 100 tissue samples obtained from colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgical treatment. Reduced expression of alpha-catenin was observed in 56 (56%) of the cases and found to be significantly correlated with the depth of invasion of the patients' colorectal cancer and its metastasis to lymph nodes and liver. In contrast, E-cadherin expression was reduced in 29 (29%) of the cases and was not significantly correlated with either depth of invasion or metastasis. Although the levels of expression of these proteins were positively correlated, coexpression pattern analysis showed that invasion and metastasis were correlated with a reduction of alpha-catenin expression regardless of the status of E-cadherin staining. Thus, to predict tumor invasion and metastasis in colorectal adenocarcinoma, it is useful to investigate not just the expression of E-cadherin but also the expression of alpha-catenin.