Expression of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma and its relationship with relapse and metastasis of tumor

Objective　To investigate the expression of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma and its relationship with tumor relapse and metastasis. Methods　The gene expressions of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma tissue with different malignancy grades and its matched adjacent tissues were assessed by immunohistochemistry. The samples were obtained from patients both with relapse and/or metastasis, without relapse, and without metastasis within one year post-operation, and they were in the same TNM stage before operation. The mRNA expression of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma and matched adjacent tissues was assessed by RT-PCR. Results　The abnormal expression rate of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma was 46.67% (28/60), which was significantly higher than that of the adjacent tissue (6.67%, 4/60, χ2=24.55, P=0.000). No difference was observed in the expression of T-cadherin between well-differentiated and poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma tissues (30% vs 35%, χ2=0.114, P=0.736). The abnormal expression rate of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma in the patients with metastasis elevated to 75% (15/20), while it was remarkably lower in 32.5% (13/40) of the patients who had no metastasis (χ2=9.676, P=0.002). The RT-PCR results showed that the mRNA expression of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma significantly decreased compared with that of its adjacent tissues. Conclusions　There is an abnormal expression of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma, and it is found to be closely correlated to the tumor recurrence and metastasis. Abnormal expression of T-cadherin in hepatocellular carcinoma may be used as a prognostic indicator and drug research target. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2015.04.12