CD44 and CD133 Expressions in Primary Tumor Cells Correlate to Survival of Pancreatic Cancer Patients

Background: Recent studies have suggested that CD44 and/or CD133 expressing pancreatic cancer cells have potential abilities of self-renewal, tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CD44 and CD133 expressions in primary tumor cells correlate to the survival and clinicopathological findings of pancre- atic cancer patients. Methods: Pancreatic head carcinoma specimens from 80 patients who underwent surgical resection were immunohisto- chemically assessed for CD44 and CD133 expressions. Results: Of the 80 specimens, 34 (42.5 %) and 48 (60%) specimens were immunohistochemically positive for CD44 and CD133 expression, respectively. CD44 was expressed on the cell surface and CD133 expression was observed in the cy- toplasm of the positive cells, which were located at the peripheral adenocarcinoma glandular structures. There was no sig- nificant difference in the 5-year survival rate of patients based on CD44 expression, but the 5-year survival rate of CD133-positive patients was significantly lower than that of CD133-negative patients (P = 0.0002). Multivariate analysis revealed that CD44-positive and CD133-negative expression was a favorable prognostic indicator (P = 0.0424). Conclusions: CD44 and CD133 expressions are association with survival and malignant behavior in pancreatic cancer pa- tients.