CD44 Immunoexpression is Unfavorable Predictor in Ovarian Serous Cancer

The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical role of CD44 expression in ovarian serous cancer, and its relation to clinicopathologic prognostic factors, disease free survival and overall survival (OS). Immunohistochemical staining for CD44 was performed on 81 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor sections. CD44 expression was found in 43% of ovarian carcinoma samples. Correlations between categorical variables were studied using the χ and the Mann-Whitney U test. For survival analysis, the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazard regression model were used. We did not find any statistically significant difference in the distribution of respondents according to clinical stage of the disease, tumor grade or the presence of vascular invasion in relation to the expression of CD44. According to the results of uninominal analysis, early International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage of the disease (P=0.003) was associated with longer disease free survival, while the expression of CD44 (P<0.001), FIGO stage III and IV (P=0.009) and the finding of vascular invasion (P=0.005) was related to a shorter OS. In conclusion, we proved that positive CD44 immunoexpression is a independent prognostic indicator of shorter OS of patients with ovarian serous cancer.