Expression of CD44V6 and PCNA in squamous cell carcinomas

Objective To investigate the expression of cluster of differentiation 44 variant 6 (CD44V6) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in ocular squamous cell carcinomas. Methods Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC). immunohistochemistry was used to explore the expression of CD44V6 and PCNA in 35 cases of ocular squamous cell carcinomas, 20 cases of papillomas, and 11 cases of normal eyelid tissue. Results The CD44V6 positive rate was 62.9% (22/35) in ocular squamous cell carcinomas, 15.0% (3/20) in papillomas, but not detectable in the 11 cases of normal eyelid tissue. The positive expression rates of CD44V6 in ocular squamous cell carcinomas were significantly higher than in benign tumors (chi(2) = 11.57, P < 0.01) or control tissue (P = 0.001), and the positive expression rates of CD44V6 in metastasis were significantly higher than without metastasis (P = 0.049). PCNA labeling indexes (PI) in tumors with CD44V6 expression were significantly higher than those without (t = 20.21, P < 0.01). Conclusions Overexpression of CD44V6 is correlated with the progress and metastasis of ocular squamous cell carcinomas. CD44V6 protein positive staining is associated with high PI. CD44V6 and PCNA are useful for evaluating prognosis.