Clinicopathological significance of the expression of CD44v2 in colorectal cancer.

Expression of CD44 variant isoforms has been reported to be correlated with faster progression of neoplastic diseases, metastasis and reduced survival period. In this study, the correlation between the expression of CD44v2 (v2) or CD44v6 (v6) and clinicopathological features was examined in Dukes B and C colorectal cancer using immunohistochemistry. V6 expression was not correlated with any clinicopathological indices or prognosis in either Dukes B or C. On the other hand, v2 expression was correlated significantly with recurrence rate and poorer prognosis in Dukes B colorectal cancer although there was no correlation between v2 expression and prognosis in Dukes C patients. The results suggest that v2 is a candidate for a prognostic marker in Dukes B colorectal cancer. CD44v2 expression may be an indication for adopting adjuvant chemotherapy in patients without lymph node metastasis.