Chemokine receptor and cancer stem cell markers in head and neck carcinoma

CD44在鼻咽癌（NPC）中的致癌机制及CD44表达的临床/预后意义尚不清楚。本研究旨在证明CD44表达作为鼻咽癌预后因素的意义。共有42例患者接受同步放化疗作为初始治疗。我们评估了CD44变体异构体CD44v3、CD44v4、CD44v5、CD44v6和CD44v7在NPC患者中的表达，然后分析了它们与CCRT失败和疾病特异性生存的关系。CD44v3高表达患者的疾病特异性生存率明显较低。特别是CD44v6高表达的患者在原发部位对CCRT的临床不完全反应。深入分析鼻咽癌中CD44v3和CD44v6的表达可能有助于确定有效的治疗策略。

The oncogenic mechanism of CD44 and the clinical/prognostic significance of CD44 expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) still remain to be clarified. This study aimed to demonstrate the significance of CD44 expression as a prognostic factor in NPC. A total of 42 patients were examined who received concurrent chemo-radiotherapy as the initial treatment. We evaluated the expressions of CD44 variant isoforms CD44v3, CD44v4, CD44v5, CD44v6, and CD44v7 in NPC patients, followed by their association with CCRT failure and the disease specific survival. The disease-specific survival rate was significantly poorer in patients with a high expression of CD44v3. The patients with a high expression of CD44v6 particularly showed a clinically incomplete response to CCRT at the primary site. A thorough analysis of CD44v3 and CD44v6 expression in NPC may be markedly beneficial for the determination of effective treatment strategies.