TY - JOUR T1 - Simple Cancer Stem Cell Markers Predict Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Resistance of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 4117 LP - 4126 DO - 10.21873/anticanres.15214 VL - 41 IS - 8 AU - KYOSUKE AGAWA AU - KIMIHIRO YAMASHITA AU - AKIO NAKAGAWA AU - KOUTA YAMADA AU - AKIHIRO WATANABE AU - JUNKO MUKOHYAMA AU - MASAFUMI SAITO AU - MITSUGU FUJITA AU - GOSUKE TAKIGUCHI AU - NAOKI URAKAWA AU - HIROSHI HASEGAWA AU - SHINGO KANAJI AU - TAKERU MATSUDA AU - TARO OSHIKIRI AU - TETSU NAKAMURA AU - SATOSHI SUZUKI AU - YOSHIHIRO KAKEJI Y1 - 2021/08/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/8/4117.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to resistance against neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We conducted a retrospective observational study for the relationship between the expression levels of CSC markers in biopsy specimens prior to 5-fluorouracil plus cisplatin (FP)-NAC and the pathological responses. Patients and Methods: We included 171 patients with ESCC who underwent the FP-NAC followed by radical resection. Biopsy specimens prior to the FP-NAC were obtained and immunochemically stained for CD44, CD133, and CD24. Results: The biopsy specimens of the non-responders had the CD44high/CD24low expression at high levels, which was found as an independent predictor of not only FP-NAC resistance but also poor overall survival by multivariate analyses. Conclusion: CD44high/CD24low expression in the biopsy specimens prior to FP-NAC may be a predictor of FP-NAC resistance and poor prognosis of ESCC patients. ER -