CD44 as Prognostic Factor in Oral and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Abstract
This retrospective case control study was conducted to assess the prognostic value of some patient-, tumor-, treatment-related variables, and to correlate markers of primary tumor with survival and cervical metastases. Twenty-five patients with histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx were analyzed. Patients were never treated before and had a minimum follow-up review of 45 months. Results show that T-stage is the most important clinical prognostic parameter. Regarding immunohistochemical markers (Ki67 and CD44), only CD44 seems to be significantly correlated with prognosis but this value showed a multicollinear effect with N upon survival. Decreased expression of CD44 correlates with a decreased survival, although increased CD44 expression was consistent with a longer survival. Therefore, it was assessed that a loss of cell adhesion, related to decreased expression of CD44, may be determinant of survival in these patients.