Aberrant expression of CD133 protein correlates with Ki-67 expression and is a prognostic marker in gastric adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: The relationships between the expression of CD133, Ki-67 and prognosis in gastric adenocarcinoma are unknown and needs exploring. METHODS: The samples of gastric adenocarcinoma from 336 Chinese patients with follow-up were analyzed for CD133 and Ki-67 protein expressions by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: CD133 was expressed in up to 57.4% (193/336) of this group of gastric carcinoma. The expression of CD133 was significantly higher in carcinoma than in normal (P = 0.0001) and dysplastic mucosas (P = 0.004). CD133 was positive corresponded with the tumour size, grade, infiltrative depth and clinical stage (all P < 0.05). The overall mean survival time of the patients with CD133 positive expression was shorter than that of patients with negative expression (P = 0.0001). The expression of CD133 has a positive correlation with that of Ki-67 (r = 0.188, P = 0.001) in gastric adenocarcinoma. CD133 was an independent prognostic indicator. (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that CD133 may play an important role in the evolution of gastric adenocarcinoma and should be considered as a potential marker for the prognosis.