Correlation of Colorectal Cancer Stem Cell Marker CD24 Expression with Clinicopathologic Features and Survival of Patients with Colorectal Cancer from Sari, Iran.

Background: Cancer stem cells are a subgroup of tumor cells that have the capability for self-renewal and differentiation and are characterized by multiple markers. Several studies have been conducted to identify these cells in colorectal cancer, including stem cell marker CD24. This study has evaluated the association of CD24 expression with clinicopathologic features and survival in an immunohistochemical (IHC) study that compared colorectal cancer tissues with adjacent normal tissues. Materials and Methods: The expression of CD24 in 50 paraffin embedded samples of colorectal cancer and adjacent normal tissue in patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital, Sari, Iran was examined by IHC. We studied the relationship between clinical and pathological features as well as the patient's condition in terms of metastasis, recurrence, type of treatment and death due to cancer treatment. Results: The 50 cases studied included 25 males and 25 females with a mean age of 57.64± 9.13 years (range: 28-93 years) There were 3 mucinous carcinoma and 47 adenocarcinoma samples. CD24 was positive in 29 cases and negative in 21 cases. CD24 expression correlated with combined surgery and chemotherapy treatment (p=0.04). A correlation existed with patient survival but it was not statistically significant. The mean survival time of patients according to CD24 expression was 26.64±18.15 in cases that were CD24 negative and 41.75±28.67 months in cases that were CD24 positive. Correlation of CD24 expression with other clinicopathologic factors was not significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: We have observed a relationship between the clinicopathologic feature of combined surgery and chemotherapy treatment to colorectal cancer stem cell marker expression. A nonsignificant correlation also existed with patient survival. To confirm these results, we recommend additional studies with larger sample sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]