E-cadherin expression phenotypes associated with molecular subtypes in invasive non-lobular breast cancer: evidence from a retrospective study and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND This retrospective study and meta-analysis was designed to explore the relationship between E-cadherin (E-cad) expression and the molecular subtypes of invasive non-lobular breast cancer, especially in early-stage invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). METHODS A total of 156 post-operative cases of early-stage IDCs were retrospectively collected for the immunohistochemistry (IHC) detection of E-cad expression. The association of E-cad expression with molecular subtypes of early-stage IDCs was analyzed. A literature search was conducted in March 2016 to retrieve publications on E-cad expression in association with molecular subtypes of invasive non-lobular breast cancer, and a meta-analysis was performed to estimate the relational statistics. RESULTS E-cad was expressed in 82.7% (129/156) of early-stage IDCs. E-cad expression was closely associated with the molecular types of early-stage IDCs (P < 0.050); moreover, the molecular subtypes were an independent factor influencing E-cad expression in early-stage IDCs. A total of 12 observational studies (including our study) were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analytical results show a significantly greater risk of E-cad expression loss in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) than in other molecular subtypes (TNBC vs. luminal A: RR = 3.45, 95% CI = 2.79-4.26; TNBC vs. luminal B: RR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.49-3.90; TNBC vs. HER2-enriched: RR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.24-3.07). CONCLUSIONS Early-stage IDCs or invasive non-lobular breast cancers with the TNBC molecular phenotype have a higher risk for the loss of E-cad expression than do tumors with non-TNBC molecular phenotypes, suggesting that E-cad expression phenotypes were closely related to molecular subtypes and further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanism.