E-cadherin in head and neck cancer

E-cadherin is a calcium ion-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecule expressed mostly in epithelial tissue. In this work we studied E-cadherin function and serum levels of soluble. E-cadherin fragments (sE-cadherin) in patients with head and neck cancer. For the functional aspect of E-cadherin, E-cadherin-positive human carcinoma cell lines showed enhanced invasiveness after treatment of anti E-cadherin antibody. It was considered that loss of normal E-cadherin function promoted invasiveness of carcinoma cells. Serum soluble E-cadherin was significantly elevated in patients with head and neck cancer, and decreased after the successful treatment. In addition, increased level of sE-cadherin was observed in head and neck cancer patients with locoregional recurrence. We conclude that the function of E-cadherin is closely correlated with invasiveness, and sE-cadherin may be a good indicator to monitor tumor progression.