The Expression of E-cadherin & HER2 in Gastric Carcinoma

Background and Aim: Cell adhesion molecules (often referred to as cadherins) are glycoproteins found in the cell membrane. They regulate biological processes such as cell migration, differentiation, proliferation, and death (apoptosis). Her-2 is a proto-oncogene that belongs to the EGFR protein family. In cellular processes such as cell growth, regulates cellular activities such as proliferation, differentiation, and survival. This study aimed to determine the expression of E-cadherin and HER2 in the available histologic subtypes and evaluate if there is a correlation between E-cadherin and HER2 immunohistochemical expression in gastric carcinoma.

Subjects & Methods: A total of 50 cases of stomach cancer were included in this study, all of which were obtained retrospectively between January 2017 and January 2020 from the Pathology Department, Tanta University, Egypt and Tanta Cancer Center archives. The samples were obtained from gastroplastectomy specimens then stained using the immunostaining approach described as follows: Deparaffinization and rehydration followed by using 3-hydroxy-4-napthylbenzaldehyde (3-OH-4-NHB) as a starting material then a smorgasbord of antigens then exposing to primary antibodies then exposing to a secondary biotinylated antibody, after that identifying of enzymes using streptavidin-labeled enzymes then preparing a color working reagent and last complexity in the development of color.

Results: E-cadherin was statistically significantly high in tumors exhibiting aggressive clinicopathologic characteristics specifically in males, all histopathologic variants (except for poorly differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma and signet ring carcinoma), N stages, M stages, higher in absent vascular invasion cases but lower in present cases and the same with perineural invasion cases. Tumor site had no significant impact on the levels of E-cadherin. HER2 showed statistically insignificant correlations with all factors. E-cadherin and HER2 expression showed statistically insignificant relationship.

Conclusion: Elevated E-cadherin expression is associated with tumors that exhibit aggressive clinicopathologic characteristics. HER2 was expressed positively in low-grade variants, but no correlation was established with clinical characteristics. E-cadherin and HER2 expression have no discernible relationship.