Role of CD44 expression in non-tumor tissue on intrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: CD44 is well known to be one of the cancer stem cell markers and is a cell-surface glycoproteininvolved in cell-cell interactions, cell adhesion, and cell migration. We investigated the role of CD44 expression in both tumor and non-tumor tissues on recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: Forty-eight patients with HCC who underwent hepatic resection at our institution were enrolled in this study. CD44 expressions in both tumor and non-tumor tissues were examined using real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The patients were divided into two groups: high and low gene-expression group, based on the CD44 expression level. We compared the clinicopathological factors between the high expression and low expression groups in both tumor and non-tumor tissues.
Results: In the tumor tissues, the gene-expression levels of CD44 did not correlate with any clinicopathological parameters. The disease-free survival rate showed no significant difference between the two gourps. In non-tumor tissues, although there was no significant relationship between the CD44 expression levels and clinicopathological factors, disease-free survival rate in the CD44 low expression group was significantly better than that in the CD44 high expression group (p<0.05). In multivariate analysis, the risk factors in tumor recurrence were presence of microscopic portal invasion and high expression level of CD44.
Conclusion: The CD44 expressions in the non-tumor tissues may predict HCC recurrence.

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本論文は, 著者Lkhagva-Ochir Tovuuの学位論文として提出され, 学位審査・授与の対象となっている。