Expression of cancer stem cell marker CD133, in skin tumors and its correlation with pathologic parameters; a study using tissue microarray

Introduction:In the present study we aimed to investigate the expression pattern and clinical significanceof cancer stem Cell (CSC) marker, CD133 in a series of skin tumors including malignantmelanoma, squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and basal cell carcinomas (BCC) which wasincluded in tissue microarray (TMA).Methods:One hundred and forty two skin tumors including 74(53.5%) BCC, 47(33.1%) SCC,19(13.4%) melanomaswere immunohistochemically examined for the expression ofCD133.The correlation of CD133 expression with clinicopathological parameters was alsoassessed.Results:There was a significant difference in expression of CD133 in melanomas, SCC and BCC (pvalue=0.001). The level of expression of CD133 was significantly higher in melanomascompared to SCC and BCC. CD133 expression was positively correlated with rate ofrecurrence and metastasis.Conclusions:Taken together the results of this study for the first time showed that expression of cancerstem cell marker CD133 is higher in melanomas compared to SCC and BCC tumors ,indicating the higher frequency of CSC in melanomas which are more aggressive and havemore tendency for metastasis. Therefore this marker can be a potential marker for targetedtherapy of malignant tumors of skin.

کلیدواژه ها:

cancer stem cell ، CD133 ، Skin tumors ، Tissue microarray