Reduced intercellular adhesion is implicated in the development of metastasis. This study investigates the expression of intercellular adhesion molecules (E‐cadherin, α‐, β‐, γ‐catenin and claudin‐7) and their influence on survival in primary breast carcinomas and corresponding axillary lymph node metastases (ALNM), and evaluates associations between them and with clinicopathological factors. The expression of adhesion molecules was analyzed immunohistochemically in tissues from 196 patients with primary invasive breast carcinomas and their nodal metastases (174 ductal and 22 lobular types). The expression was evaluated using semi‐quantitative scoring of the intensity and proportion of immunoreactivity. All five adhesion proteins showed significantly reduced expression in primary ductal carcinomas with re‐expression in ALNM (p<0.001). In uni‐ and multivariate analyses, the expression of E‐cadherin in the primary tumours was a significant predictor of disease‐free survival and distant disease‐free survival. Thus, abnormal E‐cadherin expression in the primary invasive breast carcinoma seems to be an independent prognostic biomarker in predicting a shorter survival in node‐positive breast cancer patients. The results indicate that abnormal expression of the adhesion molecules in the primary tumours with re‐expression in corresponding nodal metastases is a common event in breast ductal carcinomas and may play a central role in establishing metastasis.