A Review on hereditary diffuse gastric cancer and the role of E-cadherin in this cancer

Background: Almost 10% of gastric cancers are familial gastric cancers. Familial or hereditary gastric cancer is classified into at least three significant syndromes of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, familial intestinal gastric cancer, and proximal polyposis of the stomach. This article aims to investigate hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) with an emphasis on the role of E-cadherin in this type of cancer. Method: This article is a review article by studying scientific databases of google scholar,PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science with keywords familial gastric cancer, HDGC, CDH1, E-cadherin from 2015 to 2019. Findings: E-cadherin protein has the role of tumor suppressor with the role of cell-to-cell adhesion and cellular polarity. Germline mutation in the CDH1 gene, which encodes cadherin, causes hereditary diffuse gastric cancer dominated by gastric adenocarcinoma. In carriers of this type of mutation, with the loss of cell adhesion due to a lack of cadherin, cancer cells infiltrate the epithelial layer and proliferate under the gastric lining, creating coherent clusters of annular cells that cause extensive hardening. This layer is coated and causes spreading invasive gastric cancer. Diagnosis of this type of cancer due to concealment under the lining of the stomach usually occurs late, and when it is fully invasive, so it is essential to identify carriers of this type of mutation. Conclusion: Due to the role of the CDH1 mutation in the development of hereditary gastric cancer, genetic testing and counseling, and management of families suspected of HDGC have been suggested. However, due to the severe difficulty in early diagnosis and its poor prognosis, it is recommended that the carriers of the mutation undergo preventive gastrectomy.

کلیدواژه ها:

Familial gastric cancer ، hereditary diffuse gastric cancer ، CDH1 ، E-cadherin