[Expression of FOXC1 and its relationship with E-cadherin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the significance and relationship between the expression of FOXC1 and clinicopathological features, and to explore its correlation with E-cadherin. METHOD: Immunohistochemical SP method was used to detected the expression of FOXC1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and nasopharyngitis tissues. RESULT: (1) Immunoreaction to FOXC1 was mainly located in nucleus of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. The positive expression rate of FOXC1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues was 85.3% (81/95), which was significantly higher than that in nasopharyngitis tissues (59.4%) (P < 0.05). (2) The expression of FOXC1 was not related to patients' age and gender, clinical stage of cancer and lymph node metastasis (P > 0.05). (3) There was a correlation between the expression of FOXC1 and down-regulated expression of E-cadherin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: FOXC1 may play an important role in generation and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, there may be a correlation between the expression of FOXC1 and down-regulated expression of E-cadherin, also FOXC1 may play an important role in the process of EMT in nasopharyngeal carcinoma by regulating E-cadherin.