OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationshipof a protein that take part in the same mechanism of cell adhesion with thecell differentiation degree and TNM staging I and IV in CRA.
METHODS: One-hundred patients (54 men and 46 women), who have receivedtreatment for CRA, stage I – 44 patients and stage IV – 56 patients,have been studied. Histological cuts of tumor tissue were examined by the immunohistochemicaltechnique as to the expression of E-cadherin proteins. Such histological cutswere classified as positive or negative through the semi-quantitative method.
RESULTS: For TNM, the E-cadherin expression for stage I: positive in72.7% and negative in 35.7%; stage IV: positive in 64.3% and negative in 35.7%.Regarding the cell differentiation degree, the expression of E-cadherin, GI:positive in 70% and negative in 30%; GII: positive in 68.4% and negative in31.6%; GIII: positive in 63.6% and negative in 36.4%. There was no significantdifference among the groups.
CONCLUSION: The results of this research come to the conclusion thatthere is no relationship between the expression of E-cadherin protein with TNMstaging (I and IV) and cell differentiation degree in CRA.
