title: CD44v6 is not a prognostic factor in primary breast cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  CD44 is an adhesion molecule and represents a highly variable family of isoforms. The isoform CD44v6 has been associated with metastasis formation and poor prognosis in animal models and human colon cancer. Results of studies in primary breast cancer are relatively small and contradictory.
  
  
  METHODS
  The immunohistochemical expression of CD44v6 was studied in a series of 338 patients with primary breast tumours, uniformly staged and treated in a single center with a long median follow-up of 128 months. The prognostic significance of CD44v6 as well as the correlation with several clinicopathological features were analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred nineteen of 338 (64.8%) of the breast cancer were CD44v6-positive (> 5% of tumour cells with positive staining). CD44v6 expression had no value for prognosticating disease-free or overall survival at this or any other cut-off point.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CD44v6 expression is not a prognostic factor in primary breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Joosten-Achjanie
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Arends
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volovics
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hupperets
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Schouten
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Hillen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors