Title:
The Significance of Wnt Signaling Pathway and Its Connection With Β-catenin and E-cadherin in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Authors:
Aleksandros Dourakis, Anna Bilali*, George Stoumpos, Frosyna Anagnosti, Eirini Thimara, Stratigoula Sakellariou & Andreas C. Lazaris, Greece

Abstract:

Background-Aims: To elucidate the importance of Wnt signaling pathway and its connection with E-cadherin and β-catenin in esophageal adenocarcinoma as well as the expression levels of β-catenin and E-cadherin as potential biomarkers.

Methodology: The study was retrospectively collected by the archives of the First Laboratory of Pathology of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University in Athens, Greece. Seventy-one (n=71) patients with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma (EA) were included in this two years study (2023-2025) to examine the association between β-catenin and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Results: A total of 71 histopathologically confirmed cases of esophageal adenocarcinoma were analyzed. Immunohistochemical assessment of E-cadherin and β-catenin expression revealed a moderate positive correlation between cytoplasmic β-catenin levels and Tumor Regression Grade (TRG). Furthermore, a strong positive correlation was observed between cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of b-catenin, suggesting that increased cytoplasmic accumulation is associated with enhanced nuclear localization, indicative of Wnt pathway activation. Additionally, a positive correlation was identified between E-cadherin expression and TRG, whereby higher levels of E-cadherin expression were associated with improved therapeutic response.

Conclusions: Simultaneous targeting of β-catenin and E-cadherin may present a therapeutic strategy in esophageal adenocarcinoma and holds promise for their utilization as prognostic biomarkers.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.51505/ijmshr.2025.9507