Soluble E-cadherin is an independent pretherapeutic factor for long-term survival in gastric cancer

J Clin Oncol. 2003 Jun 15;21(12):2288-93. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2003.08.078.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate whether pretherapeutic serum soluble E-cadherin is an independent factor predicting long-term survival in gastric cancer. Gastric cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world, but a satisfactory tumor marker is currently unavailable for gastric cancer. Soluble E-cadherin has recently been found to have prognostic value in gastric cancer.

Patients and methods: One hundred sixteen patients with histologically proven gastric adenocarcinoma were included in the trial. Pretherapeutic serum was collected, and soluble E-cadherin was assayed using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The patients were followed up prospectively at the outpatient clinic.

Results: There were 75 men and 41 women, with a mean (+/- SD) age of 66 +/- 14 years. Forty-eight percent of tumors were located in the gastric antrum. The median survival time was 11 months. The mean pretherapeutic value of soluble E-cadherin was 9,159 ng/mL (range, 6,002 to 10,025 ng/mL), and the mean pretherapeutic level of carcinoembryonic antigen was 11 ng/mL (range, 0.3 to 4,895 ng/mL). On multivariate analysis, soluble E-cadherin is an independent factor predicting long-term survival. Ninety percent of patients with a serum level of E-cadherin greater than 10,000 ng/mL had a survival time of less than 3 years (P =.009).

Conclusion: Soluble E-cadherin is a potentially valuable pretherapeutic prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / blood*
  • Adenocarcinoma / diagnosis
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / blood*
  • Cadherins / blood*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Staging / methods
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prognosis
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Prospective Studies
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Stomach Neoplasms / blood*
  • Stomach Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Survival Rate

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Cadherins