Role of E-cadherin in differentiation between Squamous and basal cell carcinoma

Objective: Some type of basal cell carcinoma (ex Keratotic variant) is often misdiagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carinoma. The objective of this study was to determine the role of E-cadherin in differentiation between Squamous and basal cell carcinoma. Methodology: The sampling was performed by simple method. Entry criteria to the study included 2 groups of 34 primary, untreated BCCs and SCCs each from a different patient. They were surgically removed and the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology. The stained sections were scored by levels of expression and intensity of E-cadherin. Results: Distribution of E-cadherin staining was more in BCC than SCCs (P=0.006) but the decreased staining intensity of E-cadherin in SCC compared with BCC was not statistically significant (P=0.056). When the results (score of distribution and intensity of E-cadherin) were added together, the acquired E-cadherin index in a statistical analysis was meaningful to differ between SCC and BCC (P=0.002). Conclusion: Our study showed that E-cadherin distribution and index but not intensity is lower in SCC cells than BCC cells and it can justify the cause of metastasis in SCC. However, this is ambiguous to use it for differentiating of aggressive forms of BCCs from SCCs, practically.