Purpose: To evaluate the frequency of cancer stem cell marker CD44 combined CD324 expression in gastric cancer specimens and association of the expression with survival of gastric cancer patients.
Methods: A total of 203 patients with primary gastric cancer who underwent curative gastric resection with lymphadenectomy were studied. The expression of CD44 and CD324 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and the association of CD44 and CD324 expression analyzed by clinicopathological characteristics. Survival of the patients was evaluated.
Results: CD44(+) CD324(-) tumors showed strong correlation with positive lymph node metastasis. Patients with CD44(-) CD324(+) had a significantly better prognosis (54.8%) than that with CD44(+) CD324(-) (24.5%). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model using those variables associated with survival in our study (depth of invasion, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, gastrectomy, CD44 expression, CD324 expression, CD44 and CD324 expression) revealed that CD44(+) CD324(-) expression (P = 0.005) was one of significant independent prognostic indicator, whereas CD44 expression (P = 0.081), CD324 expression (P = 0.068) was not.
Conclusion: CD44(+) CD324(-) expression was one of significant independent prognostic survival factors for patients with gastric cancer.
Keywords: CD324; CD44; cancer stem cell; gastric cancer; prognosis.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.