Abstract

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent malignant tumor of the oral cavity, exhibiting a heterogeneous behavior. Because the mortality rate for this tumor has essentially remained unchanged over the last few decades, the need exists for more reliable prognostic factors in OSCC. The objective of this review was to examine the relevance of CD44 expression on the prognosis of OSCC patients through a critical analysis of the most significant current scientific literature on this subject. We found that most investigations of CD44 expression in OSCC over the years have demonstrated some prognostic influence, although there were significant differences among the studies. Certain studies have also demonstrated that CD44 may be an important biomarker of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) in OSCC. However, as with the discrepancies regarding the true prognostic value of CD44 in OSCC, some studies have indicated that CD44 might be limited in the identification of oral CSCs. Thus, according to our findings, additional and more standardized research should be conducted to validate the CD44 molecule as a reliable biomarker of prognosis and of CSCs in OSCC.

Keywords: Oral cancer; CD44; Cancer stem cells; Prognosis