Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Bánkfalvi, Agnes
• Kraßort, Melanie
• Végh, András
• Felszeghy, Endre
• Piffkó, Jozsef

Titel

Deranged expression of the E-cadherin/β-catenin complex and the epidermal growth factor receptor in the clinical evolution and progression of oral squamous cell carcinomas

Ist Teil von

• Journal of oral pathology & medicine, 2002-09, Vol.31 (8), p.450-457

Ort / Verlag

Oxford, UK: Munksgaard International Publishers

Erscheinungsjahr

2002

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background:  Deranged expression and function of the E‐cadherin/β‐catenin (E‐cad/β‐cat) complex and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been implicated in the development and progression of carcinomas. Methods:  To estimate the role of these molecules in oral cancer, we investigated 75 primary oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) with adjacent normal and/or dysplastic mucosa, 30 paired metastases and 12 recurrences by immunohistochemistry. Results:  All three molecules were constitutionally expressed in the basal/parabasal layers of tumour adjacent ‘normal’ epithelium, in contrast to a significant increase of EGFR and heterogeneous expression of E‐cad/β‐cat in dysplasia. In OSCCs, over‐expression of EGFR correlated significantly with lower tumour grade and poor prognosis, loss of E‐cad was a significant marker for shortened survival, reduced β‐cat staining was a predictive marker for lymph node metastasis. Conclusions:  There is a perturbance in intercellular adhesion molecules and EGFR expression/function in oral cancer with major clinical impact. E‐cad and β‐cat seem to inhibit EGFR to enhance the progression of OSCCs.