Expression profile of E‐cadherin, estrogen receptors, and P53 in early‐onset gastric cancers

Early-onset gastric cancer (EOGC) is predominant in females, diffuse histology, and hereditary pattern. Germline mutation of CDH1 and p53 has been reported previously and female dominance was speculated to be associated with estrogen and its receptors. Expression of E-cadherin, estrogen receptor α (ERα), estrogen receptor β (ERβ), and p53 in EOGC remains unclear, which was the focus of this study, to assess clinical significance of their expression in EOGC. The expression of E-cadherin, ERα, ERβ, and p53 in tumors and normal tissues from surgically resected EOGCs was assessed by immunohistochemistry (n = 139) and Western blot (n = 7) methods, respectively. The expression in tumor tissues was significantly higher for ERα, ERβ, and p53, but lower for E-cadherin, compared to uninvolved mucosa. Positive staining of ERβ and p53 was more frequently observed in younger patients with advanced TNM stages. For E-cadherin, significant correlation was observed between the immunopositivity and TNM stages IA+IB. P53-negative patients had significantly better outcomes than p53-positive patients. Significant association between expression of E-cadherin and histologic types was found in familial, but not in sporadic, EOGC. In conclusion, our results demonstrated E-cadherin may have a role in initiation of EOGC and positive ERβ and p53 expression may partially explained early-onset and tumor progression of EOGC.