Soluble CD44 standard, CD44 variant 5 and CD44 variant 6 and their relation to staging in head and neck cancer.

Conclusion: The possible roles of CD44st, CD44v5 and CD44v6 in the prognosis of head and neck cancer deserve further elucidation and evaluation with long-term patient follow-up.

Objective: Standard CD44 (CD44st), CD44 variant 5 (CD44v5) and CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6) are expressed in human malignant cells and tissues. The mechanism of their expression remains unclear, but has been reported to be associated with the progression and metastasis of malignancies.