Co-expression of CD133, CD44v6 and human tissue factor is associated with metastasis and poor prognosis in pancreatic carcinoma

The metastasis-related molecules CD133, CD44v6 and human tissue factor (TF) have been shown to be associated with tumor invasion and metastasis. This study aimed to determine whether co-expression of these three molecules was associated with metastasis and overall prognosis in pancreatic carcinoma. We analyzed the expression profiles of these three molecules by immunohistochemistry and evaluated the relationship of their expression profiles with metastasis and prognosis in 109 pancreatic carcinomas. The results showed that the expression levels of CD133, CD44v6 and TF were increased in pancreatic carcinoma. Co-expression of CD133, CD44v6 and TF (tri-expression) was also detected in pancreatic carcinoma. Clinical analysis showed that individual expression of CD133, CD44v6 or TF was associated with vessel invasion, lymph node metastasis and liver metastasis, while tri-expression was associated with lymph node metastasis. Survival analysis showed that patients with co-expression of CD133 and TF or tri-expression had lower and the lowest overall survival rates, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that T-factor, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, and individual levels or tri-expression of CD133, CD44v6 and TF were survival risk factors. Multivariate analysis showed that tri-expression of CD133, CD44v6 and TF was an independent predictor of survival. These results suggest that overexpression of CD133, CD44v6 and TF is associated with pancreatic carcinoma metastasis. Tr-expression of these three molecules may be a useful predictor for pancreatic carcinoma prognosis.