TY - JOUR T1 - Cell-Adhesion Molecule Expression and the Proliferation of Malignant Mesothelioma: A Post-Mortem Examination JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 3061 LP - 3065 VL - 34 IS - 6 AU - KOZO KURIBAYASHI AU - HIROSHI HIRANO AU - KEIJI NAKASHO AU - HIDEKI OHYAMA AU - KOJI YAMANEGI AU - CHIHARU TABATA AU - KAZUYA FUKUOKA AU - YOSHIHIRO FUJIMORI AU - TAKASHI NAKANO Y1 - 2014/06/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/34/6/3061.abstract N2 - Aim: In order to determine if metastatic malignant mesothelioma cells are more aggressive than primary malignant mesothelioma cells, an analysis of the expression of the adhesion molecules E-cadherin and β-catenin, concomitant with an assessment of the proliferative activity at primary and metastatic sites, was conducted in post-mortem samples. Materials and Methods: E-cadherin or β-catenin expression was graded according to the percentage of positively-stained tumor cells. The proliferative activity was quantified by the Ki-67 labeling index. Results: Histologically, the majority of metastatic tumors matched the primary tumor. In the epithelioid component of primary tumors, E-cadherin and β-catenin expression ranged from 1+ to 4+. Conclusion: Malignant mesothelioma cells acquire a higher proliferative potential after metastasis, without any significant changes in their histology, although metastasis produces no definite trend on the expression of E-cadherin or β-catenin. ER -