CDH1 and neoplasm: E-cadherin downregulation is also a hallmark of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) (Peinado et al, 2004), which is an important feature of tumour progression, possibly mediated through expression of its repressors Snail, Slug and Twist (Hajra et al, 2002; Yang et al, 2004; Peinado et al, 2007).