CDH17 and head and neck cancer: More recently, the co-operation of cadherin/DR was studied in head and neck cancers (HNSCCs): N-cadherin, the major mesenchymal marker, has been shown to enhance cell growth by inhibiting apoptosis.89 N-cadherin overexpression was associated not only with an increase in DcR2 but also with a decrease in DR5, whereas its knockdown led to the opposite results, suggesting the existence of a signalling network between cadherins and death receptors.