The impact of E‐cadherin expression on the prognosis of esophageal cancer: a meta‐analysis

E‐cadherin is a 120‐KD transmembrane calcium‐dependent cell adhesion protein that has been demonstrated drownregulated in a large amount of invasive tumors. However, its effect on the prognosis of esophageal cancer (EC) remains controversial. All the relevant English articles that reported survival data or clinicopathological parameters were enrolled in this meta‐analysis. A total of 24 studies, including 2691 cases, were included in this study. Twelve studies containing 1669 cases were enrolled to synthesize with hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). The pooled HR for all 12 studies enrolled in this meta‐analysis was 1.33 (95% CI 1.16–1.52; z = 3.99, P = 0.00). When the study measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay is excluded, the pooled HR‐evaluated E‐cadherin to reduce the expression in EC, and in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was 1.39 (95% CI 1.22–1.58; z = 5.08, P = 0.00) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.21–1.56; z = 4.87, P = 0.00), respectively. The risk of reduced E‐cadherin expression on poor differentiation degree was 1.636 (95% CI 1.33–2.02). The pooled odds ratio of reduced E‐cadherin expression on deeper tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and higher clinical stage were 2.63 (95% CI 1.75–3.94), 1.77 (95% CI 1.06 ?2.97), and 3.39 (95% CI 1.85–6.23). Reduced E‐cadherin expression detected by immunohistochemistry could be a valid prognostic marker in patients with EC, especially in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Reduced E‐cadherin expression is significantly associated with poorer differentiation degree.