Prognostic role of expression of N-cadherin in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a multi-institutional study

Mohammad Abufaraj, Marco Moschini, Francesco Soria, Kilian Gust, Mehmet Özsoy, Romain Mathieu, Morgan Rouprêt, Vitaly Margulis, Jose A. Karam, Christopher G. Wood, Alberto Briganti, Karim Bensalah, Andrea Haitel, Shahrokh F. Shariat

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the role of N-cadherin as prognostic biomarker in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in a large multi-institutional cohort of patients. Patients and methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the status of N-cadherin expression in 678 patients with unilateral sporadic UTUC treated with radical nephroureterectomy. N-cadherin was considered positive if any immunoreactivity with membranous staining was detected. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate recurrence-free survival, overall survival and cancer-specific survival. Disease recurrence, overall mortality and cancer-specific mortality probabilities were tested in Cox regression models. Results: Expression of N-cadherin was observed in 292 (43.1%) of patients, and it was associated with advanced tumour stage (p < 0.04), lymph node metastases (p = 0.04) and sessile architecture (p < 0.02). Within a median follow-up of 37.5 months (IQR 20–66), 171 patients (25.2%) experienced disease recurrence and 150 (22.1%) died from UTUC. In univariable analyses, N-cadherin expression was significantly associated with higher probability of recurrence (p = 0.01), but not overall (p = 0.9) or cancer-specific mortality (p = 0.06). When adjusted for the effects of all available confounders, N-cadherin was not associated with any of the survival outcomes. Conclusion: N-cadherin is expressed in approximately 2/5 of UTUs. It is associated with adverse pathologic factors but not with survival outcomes. Its clinical value remains limited.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1073-1080
Number of pages8
JournalWorld journal of urology
Volume35
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2017

Keywords

  • N-Cadherin
  • Prediction
  • Survival
  • UTUC prognosis
  • Upper tract urothelial carcinoma
  • Urothelial carcinoma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Urology

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