Expression of E-cadherin in Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma and Its Prognostic Implication

Jung, Eun Jung; Park, Heae Sung; Min, Sun Young; Bae, Jeong Mo; Moon, Kyung Chul

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma is a category of renal cell carcinoma composed of histologically characteristic tumor cells. E-cadherin is an intercellular adhesion protein that has been correlated with tumor aggressiveness in many carcinomas, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma. However, the significance of an E-cadherin expression in chromophobe renal cell carcinoma is not known.
METHODS
We evaluated the E-cadherin expression status of 65 chromophobe renal cell carcinomas by performing immunohistochemical staining with the tissue microarray method. The percentage of positively stained tumor cells was evaluated and this was then classified into two categories: a low expression where 0 to 25% of the cells are positive, and a high expression where more than 25% of the cells are positive.
RESULTS
Among 65 cases, 11 cases (17%) showed a low expression, and 54 cases (83.0%) showed a high expression. The tumors with low expression were more likely to have a higher stage but this was not significant (p=0.056). On the survival analysis, a low E-cadherin expression was significantly associated with poor cancer-specific survival (p=0.005) and progression-free survival (p=0.003).
CONCLUSIONS
The E-cadherin expression is a good prognostic marker for survival in patients with chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.