Does CD44 represent the prognostic value of cancer stem cells in salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinomas

Objectives Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common salivary gland malignancy in both children and adults. Apart from frequently identified prognostic factors including histological grade, clinical stage and surgical margins, the role of tumor-initiating cells (T-IC) are now in great consideration. According to the role of cancer stem cells (CSC) in initiation, progression, metastasis, recurrence and treatment resistance in different tumor types, we aimed to evaluate the CD44 expression in MECs and correlate this data with clinicopathologic features. Methods 14 samples of MECs were examined by immunohistochemistry for CD44 expression. Patients’ medical records were reviewed for clinicopathologic findings including lymph node involvement, distant metastasis, recurrence and follow up data. Results In this study patients with positive lymph node involvement and distant metastasis showed higher expressions of CD44. We also noted a tendency for higher expression of CD44 in patients who died of the disease with high grade MECs (Low grade: 61.57± 20, High grade: 78.86±21), however, no significant correlations was found between the above clinicopathologic factors along with the expression of CD44. Moreover, the expression level of CD44 was not significantly associated with 5-year overall survival of the patients. Conclusion This study evaluated the association between the CD44 and clinicopathologic features in patients with MEC. Although CD44 plays an important role in the morphogenesis of this tumor, this marker alone might not function as an effective prognosticator for MECs. These findings suggest that the prognostic value of stem cell markers might depend on the specific types of cancers.

کلیدواژه ها:

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma ، Cancer stem cells ، CD44 ، Salivary gland ، prognosis