[The expression of CD44 and it's significance in human laryngeal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the CD44 expression in different laryngeal carcinoma tissues and their clinical significance. METHOD: Using immunohistochemistry methods to study 261 cases of archived paraffin-embedded laryngeal tissue. RESULT: The results turned out to be as follows: 1. A high level of CD44 expression was more frequently found in laryngeal carcinoma than in precarcinoma lesions and normal tissues. 2. CD44 expression correlated well with histological grades, the higher grade the lower the CD44 expression. 3. The third and fourth stages laryngeal carcinoma had stronger CD44 positive than those of the first and second stages. 4. CD44 expression in laryngeal carcinoma with cervical metastasis were higher than those without cervical metastasis. 5. To 3 and 5 years survival, CD44 positive cases had lower chance than CD44 negative cases. CONCLUSION: These results implicates that the occurrence, development and prognosis of laryngeal carcinoma may be closely related to CD44 expression.