[Prognostic value of the expression of adhesion molecules for non-clear-cell variants of renal cell carcinoma].

ABSTRACT

The prognostic value of the expression of the adhesion molecules CD44, EMA, and E-cadherin was studied using surgical specimens of 105 renal cell carcinomas (54 papillary, 39 chromophobic, and 12 clear-cell ones). Stages 3-4 tumors showed hyperexpression of all the above proteins (the distribution was estimated by chi2 and Fisher's exact tests). Furthermore, CD44 was found to be an independent unfavorable factor to predict renal cell carcinoma with its hyperexpression, the 5-year estimated survival rate decreased by 52% (Kaplan-Meier method; p = 0.018). The expression of EMA and E-cadherin was significantly associated with the stage and, to some extent, grade of tumor differentiation; however, it is necessary to study more observations to define the prognostic role of these proteins.