Abstract:
Objective:To examine the relationship between the prevalence of CD44+/CD24-cells and distant metastasis in breast cancer tissue. Methods:A total of 60breast cancer patients who had been admitted to Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital between January 2003and October 2004were randomly selected. Our cases were divided into metastasis and non-metastasis (control) groups. The CD 44+/CD 24-cells were identified through double- staining immunohistochemistry. Then, the prevalence of CD44+/CD 24-cells in breast cancer tissue was calculated. Information was obtained regarding the relationship between this prevalence and distant metastasis. Results: Differences between the metastasis and control groups are significant in terms of the prevalence of CD44+/CD 24-cells in breast cancer tissue ( χ2=11 .334, P<0.05). The osseous metastasis group also deviated considerably from the con -trol group in this respect ( χ2=9.250, P=0.01). This prevalence is significant in five-year disease-free survival ( χ2=8.058, P= 0.005). Con -clusion: The prevalence of CD 44+/CD 24-cells in breast cancer tissue is associated with distant metastasis, especially with osseous me-tastasis.