Expression Of CD44⁺ / CD24^-/LOW Phenotype, E-Cadherin And N-Cadherin In Breast Cancer And Its Correlation And Significance

Objective Detecting the expression of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotype, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in normal breast tissues,adjacent tissues,breast cancer and metastatic axillary lymph nodes .To investigate the expression of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotype,E-cadherin and N-cadherin in breast cancer and its significance,and its clinicopathological significance in breast cancer.Methods Specimens of normal breast tissues,adjacent tissues,breast cancer and metastatic axillary lymph nodes were retrieved from the department of pathology in The First Affiliated Hospital,Chongqing Medical University.,The expression of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotype, E-cadherin and N-cadherin in normal breast tissues,adjacent tissues,breast cancer and metastatic axillary lymph nodes were detected by immunohistochemistry,and the correlation of the occurrence ,invasion and metastasis of breast cancer were analyzed.Results:1. The expression rates of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotype in normal breast tissues,adjacent tissues,breast cancer and metastatic axillary lymph nodes were 6.7%,10.0%,41.4% and 44.4%,the positive rates of E-cadherin were 100%,90.0%,51.7%and 33.3% ,and the positive rates of N-cadherin were 0%,15.0%,44.8% and 55.6%,respectively,with a significant difference among the three groups (P<0.05).2. The expression of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotypic was obviously different between the expression of E-cadherin and N-cadherin, and with a negative correlation with the expression of E-cadherin ,but with a positive correlation with the expression of N-cadherin (P <0.05).The expression of E-cadherin and N-cadherin were significantly different, and having a positive correlation in the beast cancer (P <0.05).3. There was no significant correlation between the prevalence of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotypic cells with age, tumor size, histological grade,lymph node status,and so on(P>0.05). E-cadherin and N-cadherin were highly correlation with histological grade,lymph node status and cerbB-2 (P<0.05), No significant correlation with age,tumor size,ER,PR(P>0.05).Conclusion:1. The increased expression of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotype, the expression reduction of E-cadherin, and abnormal expression of N-cadherin are closely involved in the occurrence, invasion and metastasis of breast cancer. 2. The transformation from E-cadherin to N -cadherin can induce the expression increased of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} phenotype ,and play an important role in the development of breast cancer.3. The prevalence of CD44 ⁺ / CD24 ^{- / low} tumor cells does not have any clinical pathology significance in human breast cancer. The expression of E-cadherin and N -cadherin are closely correlated with histological grade,lymph node status and cerbB-2, and having an important role in invasion and metastasis of breast cancer , giving a judgement and the clinical prognosis for help.