Expression And Significance Of ZEB1 And E-cadherin In Breast Cancer

Objective To observe the expression of E-cadherin and transcription factor ZEB1 in breast cancer and the adjacent noncancerous tissues.To investigate the potential correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and ZEB1 in breast cancer with the clinicopathological features such as age,tumor size,histopathological classification,histological grade,TNM stage and lymph node metastasis.To explore the relationship between the expression of E-cadherin,ZEB1,ER,PR,HER-2 and Ki-67 in breast cancer.To further explore the possible molecular biological mechanism of E-cadherin and ZEB1 in the development of breast cancer,and to provide some reference in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.Methods Immunohistochemistry test was performed to detect the expression of E-cadherin and ZEB1 in 320 cases of breast cancer and 80 adjacent noncancerous tissues.The results were analyzed to determine whether the differences was statistically significant.The association was analyzed on the expression between E-cadherin as well as ZEB1 with clinicopathological features such as age,tumor size,histopathological classification,histological grade,TNM stage,lymph node metastasis,ER,PR,HER-2 and Ki-67.We also analyzed the relationship between the expression of E-cadherin and ZEB1 in breast cancer.Results1.In 80 cases of adjacent noncancerous tissues,only 2 cases were negatively expressed in E-cadherin,the positive rate was 97.5%.In 320 cases of breast cancer tissues,206 cases were positively expressed in E-cadherin,the positive rate was 64.4%.The expression of E-cadherin in breast cancer was significantly lower than that in adjacent noncancerous tissues(P<0.001).The expression of E-cadherin in breast cancer was significantly correlated with age,tumor size,histological classification,TNM stage and lymph node metastasis(P<0.05),but not with histological grade(P>0.05).There was a positive correlation between the expression of E-cadherin with ER(r=0.215,P<0.05),but no correlation between the expression of PR、HER-2 and Ki-67 in breast cancer(P>0.05).2.In 80 cases of adjacent noncancerous tissues,only 1 cases were positively expressed in ZEB1,the positive rate was 1.2%.In 320 cases of breast cancer tissues,79 cases were positively expressed in ZEB1,the positive rate was 24.7%.The expression of ZEB1 in breast cancer was significantly higher than that in adjacent noncancerous tissues(P<0.001).The expression of ZEB1 in breast cancer was significantly correlated with histological classification,histological grade and lymph node metastasis(P<0.05),but not with age,tumor size and TNM stage(P>0.05).There was a positive correlation between the expression of ZEB1 with HER-2(r=0.115,P<0.05)and Ki-67(r=0.141,P<0.05),but no correlation with the expression of PR and ER in breast cancer(P>0.05).3.There was a negative correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and ZEB1 in breast cancer(r=-0.255,P<0.05).Conclusion1.E-cadherin is widely expressed in adjacent noncancerous tissues,but down-regulated in breast cancer tissues.The level of its expression was related to the tumor size,histological classification,TNM stage and lymph node metastasis,and had a positive correlation with the expression of ER.Suggesting that EMT may exist in the development and progression of breast cancer,and E-cadherin may play an important role in it.It can be deduced that E-cadherin is a vital biological indicator of breast cancer.Detecting its expression may help for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer.2.ZEB1 showed low expression in adjacent noncancerous tissues,but was significantly up-regulated in breast cancer tissues.The level of its expression was related to the histological grade and lymph node metastasis,and had a positive correlation with the expression of HER-2 and Ki-67.Suggesting that the expression of ZEB1 may play an important role in the process of invasion and metastasis of breast cancer.It can be inferred that detecting the biological indicator ZEB1 may help for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.3.There was a negative correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and ZEB1 in breast cancer.Suggesting that ZEB1 may be involved in the EMT,and be able to regulate the expression of E-cadherin.This study provides a new idea that ZEB1 may become a new target for the treatment of breast cancer.