A study on the relationship between CD44v6 expression and biological characteristics in breast cancer

Objective To investigate the correlative relationship between the expression of adhesion molecule CD44v6 and biological characteristics of breast cancer.Methods Using immunhistochemical techniques,we examined the expression of CD44v6 in 65 specimens of breast cancer patients,who were diagnosed in our hospital in 2006,and assessed about biological characteristics of the tumor.Results Fifty-three of sixty-five (81.5%) women with breast carcinoma were CD44v6 positive.The positive rate of CD44v6 in cases with metastases of axillary nodes was significantly higher than that without metastases of axillary nodes (90.9% vs 61.9%,P＜0.01).The positive rate of CD44v6 in cases with Ki-67 expression was 76.9%,and there is no expression of CD44v6 in cases of Ki-67 negative (P＜0.01).In multivariate analysis,using the Logistic model,the main factors on CD44v6 expression were metastases of axillary nodes (OR=1.604) and Ki-67 expression (OR =2.800).Conclusion CD44v6 expression was closely correlated with metastases of axillary nodes and Ki-67 expression.It is an important indicator of detecting patient's condition and predicting patient's prognosis in breast cancer. Key words: Breast cancer; CD44v6; Biological characteristics