Abstract:
Objective To detect the protein expression and relationship between integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and E-cadherin (E-cad) in primary gallbladder cancer (PGC), as well as to evaluate their clinical significance.
Methods ILK and E-cad were examined in 48 cases with PGC, 25 with gallbladder adenoma and 25 with chronic cholecystitis tissues by immunohistochemistry. Then, the correlation between clinical and pathological features, as well as their relationship, was investigated.
Results The positive rate of ILK was significantly higher in the gallbladder cancer group (66.7%; 32/48) than in the gallbladder adenoma (36.0%; 9/25) and chronic cholecystitis groups (24.0%; 6/25) (P < 0.05). However, the positive rate of E-cad, namely, 45.8% (22/48), was significantly lower than those of the benign groups (P < 0.05). When the depth of invasion was aggravated and lymph node metastasis had occurred, the ILK expression level became significantly higher. Nevertheless, negative E-cad results were produced (P < 0.05). A negative correlation between the expression of ILK and E-cad in gallbladder cancer existed (r= -0.411, P < 0.05).
Conclusion The expression of ILK and E-cad is significantly correlated with tumor invasion and metastasis. A negative correlation exists between these expressions. Detection of these two indexes is useful in predicting tumor progression and prognosis.
下载: