Cervical Cancer Metastasis: Significance of E-Cadherin and Vimentin

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: To evaluate whether expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin, and their specific pattern can predict invasiveness, and may be used as markers for early diagnoses and to correlate the therapy response and reveal prognostic importance of E-cadherin and Vimentin activity. Material and Methods: Biopsies/ specimens of cervix uteri were evaluated for all premalignant lesions and invasive epithelial squamous lesions, by haematoxylin and eosin sections and by immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin and vimentin. Patients follow up and therapy related changes were also studied. Results: There were 111(37.0%) premalignant cases and 189 (63.0%) malignant cases in our study. Out of 10 cases, 9 cases (90.0%) of well differentiated, 8 cases (80.0%) of moderately differentiated while only 1 case (10.0%) of poorly differentiated carcinomas showed 4+staining for E-cadherin. One case (10.0%) of well differentiated carcinoma showed 1+(weak and focal) staining and one case (10.0%) each of moderately differentiated carcinoma showed 3+(strong and focal) and 4+(strong and diffuse) positivity for vimetin. One case (10.0%) of poorly differentiated carcinoma showed 2+(strong and focal) positivity, three cases each (30.0%) showed 3+(weak and diffuse) and 4+(strong and diffuse) staining for vimentin. Fischer exact test showed a ‘p value’ of <0.05, which was statistically significant. Conclusions: The immunohistochemical pattern of expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin could help to predict the prognosis and plan the management of the patient. Also, these biomolecules can be used as biomarkers for further research on the micro-invasion of the tumor for early diagnosis and survival of the patients.