Expression of LYVE-1, E-cadherin in lymphatic vessels of gastric carcinoma and its association with cancer metastasis

Objective: To discuss the expression of cadherin in gastric carcinoma and explore its relation with the mechanism of lymphatic metastasis. Methods: 14 gastric carcinoma specimen and 2 normal stomach specimen were adopted. Expressions of E-cadherin,β-catenin and LYVE-1 on lymphatic vessels of above samples were detected by immunohistochemical method. Results: The positive expression of LYVE-1 was found at the lymphatic vessels of normal and tumor tissues. There were no expression for E-cadherin and β-catenin on lymphatic vessels of normal and tumor tissue. However, β-catenin expressed in lymphatic vessels of gastric carcinoma weakly, and its expression degree had inverse correlation with the differentiation and metastasis of the tumor. Conclusions: LYVE-1 is a specific marker of the lymphatic vessel of the tumor tissue. Although playing some roles, the compound of E-cadherin/β-catenin is not an important element for the adhesion between tumor cell and lymphatic endothelial cell