Expression of CD44 variant proteins in adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus and its relation to prognosis

BACKGROUND None of the commonly used staging criteria accurately determine the prognosis of a patient with adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus. The authors therefore assessed the expression pattern and prognostic impact of CD44 standard and CD44 isoforms CD44v4, v5,v6,v7, and v10 in adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus. METHODS Specimens from 41 patients with adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus who underwent esophageal resection were embedded in paraffin and studied immunohistochemically to determine the expression of CD44 splice variants. Histomorphologic parameters and survival time were not known at the time of the investigation. RESULTS Correlations between favorable clinical or hi…