Roles of transcriptional factor Snail and adhesion factor E-cadherin in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of the transcription factor Snail and adhesion factor epithelial-cadherin (E-cadherin) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) and evaluate their correlation with tumor pathological grading, clinical stage, invasion and metastases. The expression of Snail and E-cadherin protein in 69 samples of CCRCC tissue, 58 samples of para-cancerous mucosa and 10 samples of normal renal tissue were detected using the immunohistochemical streptavidin-peroxidase method. The positivity rate of Snail in CCRCC was 82.61%, which was significantly higher than that in para-cancerous mucosa (43.10%, P<0.001). The positivity rate of E-cadherin in CCRCC was 31.88%, which was significantly lower than that in para-cancerous mucosa (91.38%, P<0.001). The expression of E-cadherin and Snail correlated significantly with tumor differential degree, clinical stage and the depth of tumor invasion and distant metastasis (P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the expression of E-cadherin and Snail in CCRCC. The overexpression of Snail and reduced expression of E-cadherin may be important biological markers for the invasion and metastasis of CCRCC. The combined detection of E-cadherin and Snail has far-reaching significance for the prediction of CCRCC invasion and metastasis.