Expression of cancer stem cell markers CD133 and CD44 in locoregional recurrence of rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Recent findings suggest that cells with surface CD markers include cancer stem cells (CSCs) which can produce a cancer cluster, and that the presence of CSCs may be linked with prognosis. CD133 and CD44 are among the most useful markers for identification of colorectal CSCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS An immunohistological analysis of CD133 and CD44 was performed using tissue from cases shown to be locoregionally recurrent or non-recurrent clinico-pathologically. RESULTS The CD133-positive rates were 38.7% and 59.23% in non-recurrent and recurrent cases, respectively, and the CD44-positive rates were 35.5% and 44.4%, respectively. Expression of the CD markers had no correlation with other clinicopathological factors. The prognosis of patients who were positive for both markers was significantly worse than that of other patients. CONCLUSION These results suggest that detection of CD133 and CD44 can provide useful information for selection of treatment and performance of intensive follow-up of colorectal cancer.