Prognostic significance of expression of CD133 and Ki-67 in gastric cancer.

CD133 is one of the most important stem cell markers in solid cancers and Ki-67 is a marker that reflects cell proliferation. The relationships between the expression of CD133 and Ki-67 and prognosis in gastric carcinoma are unknown and need exploring. We examined 50 gastric cancer patients retrospectively in the Radiation Oncology Department of the Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University. CD133 and Ki-67 expression was examined using immunohistochemical staining. The survival rate in patients with CD133 positive expression was significantly worse than that in the patients with negative expression (p=0.04). Expression of CD133 had a positive correlation with that of Ki-67 (r=0.350; p=0.014). Multivariate analysis revealed that the expression of CD133 was an independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer (p=0.02). Conclusion, expression of CD133 may be a useful prognostic marker in gastric cancer.