Expression of E-cadherin mRNA and concentration of serum soluble E-cadherin in cervix cancer

Objective:To study the E-cadherin(E-cad) mRNA expression in cervix cancer,and explore its relations with occurrence,development and metastasis of cancer.Methods: E-cad mRNA expression in cervical tissue was detected by RT-PCR on 46 cases of cervix cancer and 15 healthy controls.The concentration of serum soluble E-cad was determined by ELISA on 25 cases of early cervix cancer,25 cases of treated cervix cancer and 25 healthy controls.Results: In cancerous cervical tissue,E-cad expression was remarkably lower than that in normal tissue(P﹤0.05) and it tended to decrease with cancer progression(P﹤0.05).E-cad expression was associated with the histological grade of cervix cancer(P﹤0.05),but not with the patients' age,clinical stage or growth pattern.The content of serum soluble E-cad in early cervix cancer was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(P﹤0.05).Conclusion: Reduced E-cad expression or even absence of it may play some role in the occurrence and development of cervix cancer.Thus,detection of serum soluble E-cad concentration may be helpful in early diagnosis of tumor.