Membranous CD44v6 is upregulated as an early event in colorectal cancer: Downregulation is associated with circulating tumor cells and poor prognosis

Previous studies have reported that CD44 variant 6 (CD44v6) and metastasis‑associated protein 1 (MTA1) are contributing factors to cancer progression. The present study aimed to evaluate the expression profiles for associations with patients' demographic data, clinicopathological characteristics, the presence of partial epithelial‑to‑mesenchymal transition (pEMT), metastatic potential based on the presence of CK20+ CEA+ CXCR4+ circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and prognosis (median follow‑up, 45 months). Thus, frozen tissue samples from 31 patients with stage I‑III colorectal cancer (CRC), 15 benign colorectal polyps and seven normal colorectal tissues were analyzed to detect membranous (m)CD44v6 and MTA1 expression via flow cytometry. The results demonstrated that the mCD44v6 and MTA1 expression profiles were significantly correlated (rs=+0.786, P