Immunohistochemical expressions of E‐cadherin and β‐catenin correlate with the invasion, metastasis and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Aim: E‐cadherin is an adhesion molecule playing the central role in adhesion between epithelial cells by binding to the same type of cadherin located adjacently. β‐Catenin directly binds to E‐cadherin in cells to connect cadherin to the cytoskeleton. In cancer development and invasion, this adhesive function between cancer cells is considered to decrease in the early step. We investigated expressions of cell adhesion molecules, E‐cadherin and β‐catenin, in oral squamous cell carcinoma, and their associations with invasion, metastasis and prognosis. Material and methods: The sections of 80 biopsy specimens that were formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded were immunostained to assess the expressions of E‐cadherin and β‐catenin in the tumour‐advancing region using histological preparations of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Result: Regarding the association with the degree of histopathological differentiation, mode of cancer invasion and the presence or absence of regional lymph node metastasis, both E‐cadherin and β‐catenin positivity rates tended to decrease in poorly differentiated and highly invasive cases. The positivity rates were also low in cases with regional lymph node metastasis. Low positivity rates were associated with regional lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. Conclusion: These findings suggested that the expressions of E‐cadherin and β‐catenin in cancer cells in the tumour‐advancing region are involved in the invasion and metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma, and affect the prognosis.