Expression of Ep‐CAM, but not of E48, associates with nodal involvement in advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx

Abstract

Expression of both Ep-CAM and E48 correlated with cell differentiation, although in inverse fashion. In particular, the association between high levels of Ep-CAM expression and high frequency of nodal metastases suggests that Ep-CAM plays a role in the development of lymph node metastases in SCC of the larynx.

Expression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in oral squamous cell carcinoma

“…Our observation found no significant correlation of EpCAM overexpression and lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.114). This was contrary to the findings in certain studies where positive lymph node metastasis was correlated with EpCAM overexpression, such as in the tongue, prostate, larynx, lung and breast cancers . However, four of 10 (40%) cases that had metastasized showed strong positivity for EpCAM, and those primary tumours that had metastasized were found to have EpCAM overexpression.…”

“…A significant correlation was observed between EpCAM overexpression and tumour grade, with a P ‐value of <0.001 in our study. High levels of EpCAM expression were associated with poorer differentiation in laryngeal SCC . Although EpCAM is a membranous marker, we observed a greater amount of cytoplasmic staining with the progression of the tumour grade.…”

“…High levels of EpCAM expression were associated with poorer differentiation in laryngeal SCC. 40 Although EpCAM is a membranous marker, we observed a greater amount of cytoplasmic staining with the progression of the tumour grade. Similarly, Ralhan et al observed that lowgrade thyroid cancers showed membranous EpEX and no detectable cytoplasmic/nuclear staining, and the anaplastic/aggressive thyroid cancers showed loss of EpEX and increased nuclear and cytoplasmic accumulation of EpICD.…”

“…This was contrary to the findings in certain studies where positive lymph node metastasis was correlated with EpCAM overexpression, such as in the tongue, prostate, larynx, lung and breast cancers. 9,32,39,40 However, four of 10 (40%) cases that had metastasized showed strong positivity for EpCAM, and those primary tumours that had metastasized were found to have EpCAM overexpression. However, a study on the expression of genetic markers in lymph node metastases compared with their primary head and neck tumours revealed that the expression of EpCAM was reduced more often in metastases compared with the primary tumours.…”

Prognostic value of biomarkers EpCAM and αB-crystallin associated with lymphatic metastasis in breast cancer by iTRAQ analysis

“…At present, the FDA approves the automated cell detection method for EpCAM as biomarker, and this method has been used to detect circulating tumor cells in patients with breast [57], prostate [32,58] and esophageal cancer [59]. The expression of EpCAM was shown to be high in laryngeal carcinoma but low in bone marrow as a metastatic niche for disseminated cancer cells [60]. These findings are consistent with our IHC Fig.…”