Switch of E-Cadherin to N-Cadherin expression in different molecular subtypes of breast invasive duct carcinomas and its correlation with clinicopathological features

Background: In breast cancer, metastasis and recurrence is the main culprit in treatment failure. This study aimed to explore the role of E-cadherin/N-cadherin Switch in progression, spread and metastasis in breast invasive duct carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 118 formalinfixed paraffinembedded mastectomy specimens of invasive breast duct carcinoma. Primary antibodies for E-cadherin (monoclonal, clone HECD-1; Zymed Laboratories; dilution 1:600) and N-cadherin (monoclonal, clone 3B9; Zymed Laboratories, Inc., Montrouge, France; dilution 1:200) were applied for all cases. The study revealed that E-cadherin high expression was significantly associated with advanced TNM clinical stage (P = 0.021), and nodal metastasis (P < 0.001). High expression of N-cadherin was significantly positively correlated with tumor sizes (P < 0.00), advanced clinical stage (P < 0.00), and nodal metastasis (P < 0.008). Mean OS was 39.99 months in cases with negative expression versus 41.8 months in cases with positive expression. Mean DFS in cases with positive E. cadh expression was 41.89 months was higher than mean DFS in cases with negative E. cadh expression which was 40.52 months, but it showed no statistical significance (P = 0.57). Conclusions/Significance: This study demonstrated that loss of E-cadherin and gain of N-cadherin promotes invasion, migration, and metastasis in invasive ductal carcinoma cells. Importantly, these findings may exploit new cancer therapies using N-cadherin antagonists.