Aberrant expression of cancer stem cell markers (CD44, CD90, and CD133) contributes to disease progression and reduced survival in hepatoblastoma patients: 4-year survival data

• Published in: Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine 2015-03, Vol.165 (3), p.396-406
• Main Authors: Bahnassy, Abeer A, Fawzy, Mohamed, El-Wakil, Mohamed, Zekri, Abdel-Rahman N, Abdel-Sayed, Ahmed, Sheta, Marwa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AC133 Antigen; Antigens, CD - genetics; Antigens, CD - metabolism; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease Progression; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Glycoproteins - genetics; Glycoproteins - metabolism; Hepatoblastoma - genetics; Hepatoblastoma - metabolism; Hepatoblastoma - pathology; Humans; Hyaluronan Receptors - genetics; Hyaluronan Receptors - metabolism; Infant; Internal Medicine; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Liver Neoplasms - genetics; Liver Neoplasms - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Neoplastic Stem Cells - metabolism; Neoplastic Stem Cells - pathology; Peptides - genetics; Peptides - metabolism; Thy-1 Antigens - genetics; Thy-1 Antigens - metabolism
• ISSN: 1931-5244; 1878-1810
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trsl.2014.07.009

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is an embryonal tumor of the liver in children. Prognosis and response to treatment in HB are highly variable. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) constitute a population of cells, which contribute to the development and progression of many tumors. However, their role in HB is not well defined yet. We assessed the prognostic and predictive values of some CSC markers in HB patients. Protein and messenger RNA expressions of the CSC markers CD133 , CD90 , and CD44 were assessed in 43 HB patients and 20 normal hepatic tissues using immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of these markers were correlated to standard prognostic factors, patients' response to treatment, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS). CD44 , CD90 , and CD133 proteins were detected in 48.8%, 32.6%, and 48.8% compared with 46.5%, 41.7%, and 58.1% RNA, respectively (concordance, 77.8%–96%). None of the normal tissue samples was positive for any of the markers. Significant correlations were reported between α-fetoprotein and both CD44 and CD133 ( P  = 0.02) as well as between tumor types CD90 and CD133 ( P  = 0.009). Reduced OS correlated with CD44 , CD90 , and CD133 expressions ( P