Journal of Medical and Biological Science Research

13-23

Authors: Noah A. Mahmood, Rajaa M. Fakhoury, Nahi Y. Yaseen, Mohamed E. Moustafa

Cancer stem cell (CSC) markers OCT3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 play important roles in metastasis and resistance to conventional cytotoxic agents. In this study, we investigated the expression levels of CSC markers OCT3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 in Iraqi women with stage II-III breast cancer or with benign breast tumor. We also investigated the association between the expression levels of these markers and some clinicopathological features. The expression of OCT 3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 in breast tissues was determined using real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry in 64 patients with breast cancer stage II or III samples as well as in 21 corresponding benign tumors. OCT3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 mRNA levels were highly expressed in stage III (p= 0.004, 0.015 and 0.008, respectively) and in stage II (p= 0.043, 0.045 and 0.028, respectively) as compared to those in benign tumors. There was no significant variation in the expression of these markers between stages II and III (p= 0.18, 0.30 and 0.49). In addition, immunohistochemistry showed that OCT3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 expression levels were increased in 82.2%, 68.8% and 53.1%, respectively in stage II-III breast cancer as compared to 14%, 28%, and 33% in benign tumor. The expression levels of OCT3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 were correlated to tumor grades, types and lymph node metastasis. These results indicate that the expression levels of CSC markers OCT3/4, ALDH-1 and CD44 were increased in stage II-III breast cancer but not in benign breast tumor in Iraqi women. Key Words: Benign tumor, breast cancer stem marker, cancer stem cells.