Elham Erfani1, Raheleh Roudi1,2, Azadeh Rakhshan3, Mehrdad Nasrollahzadeh Sabet2, Ahmad Shariftabrizi4, Zahra Madjd1,2. 1. Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran - Iran. 2. Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran - Iran. 3. Department of Pathology, Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran - Iran. 4. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY - USA.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Skin cancers, particularly melanoma, are initiated and maintained by a subpopulation of tumor cells expressing stemness markers that are called cancer stem cells (CSCs). This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels and clinicopathological significance of the putative CSC markers CD44 and ALDH1A1 in patients with skin cancer. METHODS: The expression levels of CD44 and ALDH1A1 were investigated in 107 skin cancer specimens including 58 (54%) basal cell carcinomas (BCC), 37 (35%) squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), and 12 (11%) melanomas using the tissue microarray (TMA) technique. The correlation of the expression levels of these markers and clinicopathological parameters was then analyzed. RESULTS: The expression levels of CD44 and ALDH1A1 were significantly higher in melanoma patients than patients with SCC or BCC (p<0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). A higher level of CD44 expression was more often found in melanoma tumor cells with a higher rate of recurrence (p = 0.029) and in SCC cases with ulceration (p = 0.01), while there was no significant correlation between ALDH1A1 expression and other clinicopathological parameters. Similarly, coexpression of CD44 and ALDH1A1 (CD44high/ALDH1A1high) was significantly observed in melanoma samples (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a CD44high/ALDH1A1high phenotype in melanoma and a CD44high phenotype in SCC can be considered candidates for targeted therapy of skin cancers aiming at CSCs.
INTRODUCTION:Skin cancers, particularly melanoma, are initiated and maintained by a subpopulation of tumor cells expressing stemness markers that are called cancer stem cells (CSCs). This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels and clinicopathological significance of the putative CSC markers CD44 and ALDH1A1 in patients with skin cancer. METHODS: The expression levels of CD44 and ALDH1A1 were investigated in 107 skin cancer specimens including 58 (54%) basal cell carcinomas (BCC), 37 (35%) squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), and 12 (11%) melanomas using the tissue microarray (TMA) technique. The correlation of the expression levels of these markers and clinicopathological parameters was then analyzed. RESULTS: The expression levels of CD44 and ALDH1A1 were significantly higher in melanomapatients than patients with SCC or BCC (p&lt;0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). A higher level of CD44 expression was more often found in melanoma tumor cells with a higher rate of recurrence (p = 0.029) and in SCC cases with ulceration (p = 0.01), while there was no significant correlation between ALDH1A1 expression and other clinicopathological parameters. Similarly, coexpression of CD44 and ALDH1A1 (CD44high/ALDH1A1high) was significantly observed in melanoma samples (p&lt;0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a CD44high/ALDH1A1high phenotype in melanoma and a CD44high phenotype in SCC can be considered candidates for targeted therapy of skin cancers aiming at CSCs.
Authors: Maria V Bogachek; Jung M Park; James P De Andrade; Allison W Lorenzen; Mikhail V Kulak; Jeffrey R White; Vivian W Gu; Vincent T Wu; Ronald J Weigel Journal: Stem Cell Reports Date: 2016-12-01 Impact factor: 7.765