Expression of CD44-standard in 182 primary neuroblastomas

Abstract

182 untreated neuroblastomas were examined for the expression of the adhesion molecule CD44s by immunohistochemistry; all tumors were also tested for amplification of the oncogene N-myc by conventional Southern blot analyses. Positive CD44s immunoreactivity correlated not with a more favorable prognosis in contrast to an absence of CD44s expression in stage dependent or independent evaluations. All patients with stage 4S disease (n = 16) expressed CD44s on a high level and had an event-free survival probability of 82%. In undifferentiated neuroblastoma subgroups could be defined, depending on the expression of CD44s (p < 0.01). In 93% of N-myc non-amplified tumors CD44s expression was detected, whereas only 62% of N-myc amplified tumors were positive for CD44s expression. These results point to CD44s expression as a new histological marker in neuroblastoma, having prognostic impact in tumors of undifferentiated morphology.