CD44 isoforms expression in intraductal and invasive pancreatic cancer and its correlation to p53 gene mutations

The expression of the CD44 antigen and its isoforms is found in many normal and malignant tissues. Numerous studies indicate that the antigen affects the course of the disease, and its v6 isoform exerts a particularly negative effect on the prognosis. High CD44s (standard) and v6 isoform expression has been noted in pancreatic cancer. A similarly common genetic change in pancreatic cancer is the p53 gene mutation. The aim of the investigation was to study the expression of the CD44s and CD44v6 antigens in invasive and intraductal pancreatic cancer and its possible correlation to the p53 gene mutations. Immunohistochemical studies were carried out in 12 patients operated on for pancreatic cancer, in whom intraductal cancer had been detected in addition to infiltrating cancer. The results indicate that pancreatic cancer is characterized by a high, yet independent expression of CD44s and the p53 protein. CD44s expression shows no correlation with the degree of tumor differentiation, while v6 expression is higher in cancers with higher histological malignancy grades. Intraductal pancreatic cancers show a similarity to invasive cancers with respect to CD44s and v6 expression, what indicates that already at the stage of its intraductal growth pancreatic cancer manifests the presence of properties affecting its invasiveness and tendencies to metastasizing.