Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Sep 7;18(33):4549-56.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i33.4549.

Lack of CD44 variant 6 expression in rectal cancer invasive front associates with early recurrence

Suvi Tuulia Avoranta  1 , Eija Annika Korkeila, Kari Juhani Syrjänen, Seppo Olavi Pyrhönen, Jari Toivo Tapio Sundström
Affiliations

Lack of CD44 variant 6 expression in rectal cancer invasive front associates with early recurrence

Suvi Tuulia Avoranta et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the prognostic value of CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6), a membranous adhesion molecule, in rectal cancer.

Methods: Altogether, 210 rectal cancer samples from 214 patients treated with short-course radiotherapy (RT, n = 90), long-course (chemo) RT (n = 53) or surgery alone (n = 71) were studied with immunohistochemistry for CD44v6. The extent and intensity of membranous and cytoplasmic CD44v6 staining, and the intratumoral membranous staining pattern, were analyzed.

Results: Membranous CD44v6 expression was seen in 84% and cytoplasmic expression in 81% of the cases. In 59% of the tumors with membranous CD44v6 expression, the staining pattern in the invasive front was determined as "front-positive" and in 41% as "front-negative". The latter pattern was associated with narrower circumferential margin (P = 0.01), infiltrative growth pattern (P < 0.001), and shorter disease-free survival in univariate survival analysis (P = 0.022) when compared to the "front-positive" tumors.

Conclusion: The lack of membranous CD44v6 in the rectal cancer invasive front could be used as a method to identify patients at increased risk for recurrent disease.

Keywords: CD44 variant 6; Disease-free survival; Disease-specific survival; Invasive front; Rectal cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The immunohistochemistry for CD44 variant 6 and Pan-cytokeratin. A: The same tumor with “front-positive” membranous staining of CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6); B: Expanding growth pattern as shown with Pan-cytokeratin (Ck-Pan) staining; C: The same tumor with “front-negative” membranous staining of CD44v6; D: Infiltrating growth pattern as shown with Ck-Pan staining. Invasive front is indicated with arrows.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CD44 variant 6 related to disease-free and disease-specific survival in univariate analysis. Disease-free survival (A) and disease-specific survival (B) according to “front-positive” and “front-negative” membranous staining pattern of CD44 variant 6.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ferlay J, Shin HR, Bray F, Forman D, Mathers C, Parkin DM. Estimates of worldwide burden of cancer in 2008: GLOBOCAN 2008. Int J Cancer. 2010;127:2893–2917. - PubMed
    1. Improved survival with preoperative radiotherapy in resectable rectal cancer. Swedish Rectal Cancer Trial. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:980–987. - PubMed
    1. Huerta S. Rectal cancer and importance of chemoradiation in the treatment. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010;685:124–133. - PubMed
    1. Lesley J, Hyman R, Kincade PW. CD44 and its interaction with extracellular matrix. Adv Immunol. 1993;54:271–335. - PubMed
    1. Herrlich P, Morrison H, Sleeman J, Orian-Rousseau V, König H, Weg-Remers S, Ponta H. CD44 acts both as a growth- and invasiveness-promoting molecule and as a tumor-suppressing cofactor. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2000;910:106–118; discussion 118-120. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms