Cadherins are cell adhesion molecules that help cells to adhere to each other and help cells migrate via epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) . They control calcium-dependent cellular adhesion and bind to various cell types and the extracellular matrix (ECM), maintaining cellular structure.Cadherin 3 (CDH3, also known as PCAD) has a molecular weight of 118kDa; comprises extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains; and promotes homotypic interactions. This gene encodes a classical cadherin of the cadherin superfamily. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants, at least one of which encodes a preproprotein that is proteolytically processed to generate the mature glycoprotein.In normal cells, CDH3 regulates cell growth and migration, but CDH3 may have opposing effects in tumors depending on type: CDH3 promotes tumorigenesis in pancreatic, breast, and gastric cancer but has the opposite effect in non-small cell lung carcinoma, liver cancer, and melanoma .