Cadherin intercellular adhesion molecule in hepatocellular carcinomas: loss of E-cadherin expression in an undifferentiated carcinoma.

Expression of E- and P-cadherin in 24 primary hepatocellular carcinomas, together with the non-cancerous liver tissue from each case, was examined by immunohistochemical staining. Cells of 23 grade I-III carcinomas as well as hepatocytes in all the non-cancerous livers expressed E-cadherin at the cell-cell boundary and showed tight intercellular adhesion without exception. However, a highly undifferentiated carcinoma classified as grade IV apparently lacked E-cadherin expression and also showed decreased intercellular adhesiveness. Loss of E-cadherin expression may be one of the characteristics of highly undifferentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast to E-cadherin, P-cadherin was never detected in either the cancer cells or non-cancerous hepatocytes in all cases.