PURPOSE:
To investigate E-cadherin immunoexpression during cervical carcinogenesis.
METHODS:
We assessed the immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin in squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL - 52 cases), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix (23 cases) and also in eight cases of cervicitis.
RESULTS:
The results show very different E-cadherin membrane expression levels when cervicitis (88%), SILs (73%) and SCC (17%) were compared. In SILs, higher E-cadherin loss was seen in less differentiated cells in the basal third of the epithelium. This study suggests that the absence of E-cadherin expression in the membrane is a molecular event that is observed more often in SCC of the uterine cervix than in SILs or cervicitis.
CONCLUSIONS:
E-cadherin is an essential molecule during the process of cervical carcinogenesis and in this context exhibits a different expression pattern according to the epithelial thickness layer.
Cadherins; Immunohistochemistry; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia; Neoplasms squamous cell; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
