Correlation Between Expression of Cell Adhesion Molecules CD44 v6 and E-cadherin and Lymphatic Metastasis in NSCLC

As the most essential biological characteristic in malignant tumors, infiltration and metastasis are the leading cause for the deaths of patients with tumors. At present, the morbidity and mortality of lung cancer are the highest among malignant tumors all over the world, in which most of them result from infiltration and metastasis (Li et al., 2013; Fei et al., 2013; Huang et al., 2013; Cui et al., 2014; Hou et al., 2014). In recent years, relevant studies have revealed that cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) CD44 v6 and E-cadherin (E-cad) are closely associated with infiltration and metastasis in a variety of tumors (Amirghofran et al., 2008; Wendt et al., 2011; Shiwu et al., 2012). Additionally, being the most commonlyencountered metastatic pathway in lung cancer, lymphatic metastasis not only affects the tumor staging, but also influences patients’ prognosis (Cazes et al., 2014). Hence, in this study, the expressions of CD44 v6 and E-cad in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue were detected by immunohistochemical method, and their correlation with the lymphatic metastasis of NSCLC was investigated so as to provide evidences for NSCLC clinical treatment.