BACKGROUNDOverexpression of CD44v6 is associated with occurrence, development and metastasis of a variety of human malignant tumors. The aim of this study is to determine the expression of CD44v6 and its prognostic significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSCD44v6 expression was detected in 52 NSCLC tissues and 12 normal pulmonary tissues by reverse transcription polyme-(rase) chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (SP method).

RESULTSThe positive expression rate of CD44v6 was 69.2% (SP method) and 75.0% (RT-PCR method) in NSCLC, respectively. Significantly higher expression of CD44v6 was demonstrated in poorly differentiated tumors than that in moderately/well differentiated tumors (P < 0.05). The expression of CD44v6 was remarkably higher in patients with lymphatic metastasis than that in those without lymphatic metastasis (P < 0.01). CD44v6 expression in stage III NSCLC was remarkably higher than that in stage I and II NSCLC (P < 0.05). Survival rate of patients with negative CD44v6 expression was significantly higher than that of those with positive CD44v6 expression (P=(0.0115)). Multi-variate logistic analysis showed the expression of CD44v6 (P=0.048) and pTNM stage (P=0.035) were significantly prognostic factors.

CONCLUSIONSOverexpression of CD44v6 is very common in lung cancer tissues. Detection of CD44v6 expression may be helpful to predict the prognosis of NSCLC patients.