Pre-Treatment CD44 and CD47 Expression and Pathological Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Single-Center Study
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University, Adana 01330, Türkiye
- 2Department of Medical Oncology, Seyhan State Hospital, Adana 01150, Türkiye
- 3Department of Medical Oncology, Necip Fazil City Hospital, Kahramanmaras 46080, Türkiye
- 4Department of Medical Oncology, Giresun Training and Research Hospital, Giresun 28100, Türkiye
- 5Department of Cardiology, Yalova State Hospital, Yalova Provincial Health Directorate, Yalova 77200, Türkiye
- 6Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University, Adana 01330, Türkiye
Abstract
CD44, a stem cell-associated adhesion molecule, and CD47, an anti-phagocytic checkpoint, have been implicated in breast cancer chemoresistance, but their relationship to neoadjuvant response is poorly defined. We assessed both markers by immunohistochemistry in pre-treatment core biopsies from 43 women treated with neoadjuvant therapy at a single center. Total pathological complete response (pCR; ypT0/is ypN0), designated the primary endpoint during peer review, occurred in 12 patients (27.9%), and breast pCR (ypT0/is) in 14 (32.6%). Total pCR rates were 18.2% in CD44-positive and 38.1% in CD44-negative tumors (odds ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.09–1.46; Fisher exact p = 0.185). CD44 positivity was concentrated in rarely responding hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative tumors, and stratification by subtype moved the odds ratio toward the null (0.62; exact 95% CI, 0.07–5.25). For CD47, the odds ratio per one-point increase in immunoreactivity score was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.54–1.19; p = 0.264), but immunoreactivity was low (only two tumors reached the prespecified high-expression threshold) and possibly technically compromised, so these findings are inconclusive. No statistically detectable association was observed between either marker and total or breast pCR; treatment could not be adjusted for, and only very large effects were detectable. These exploratory data do not provide sufficient evidence to support CD44 or CD47 as response markers.
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BibTeX
@article{asoglu2026pretreatment,
title = {{Pre-Treatment CD44 and CD47 Expression and Pathological Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Single-Center Study}},
author = {Hatice Asoglu and Esra Asarkaya and Abdurrahman Aykut and Gunes Dorukhan Cavusoglu and Yasemin Aydinalp Camadan and Mehmet Mutlu Kidi and Sedat Biter and Sendag Yaslikaya and Ramazan Asoglu and Tugba Toyran and Melek Ergin and Ertugrul Bayram and Ismail Oguz Kara and Berksoy Sahin and Semra Paydas and Tolga Koseci},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219671},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9671},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pre-Treatment CD44 and CD47 Expression and Pathological Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Single-Center Study
AU - Hatice Asoglu
AU - Esra Asarkaya
AU - Abdurrahman Aykut
AU - Gunes Dorukhan Cavusoglu
AU - Yasemin Aydinalp Camadan
AU - Mehmet Mutlu Kidi
AU - Sedat Biter
AU - Sendag Yaslikaya
AU - Ramazan Asoglu
AU - Tugba Toyran
AU - Melek Ergin
AU - Ertugrul Bayram
AU - Ismail Oguz Kara
AU - Berksoy Sahin
AU - Semra Paydas
AU - Tolga Koseci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219671
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9671
AB - CD44, a stem cell-associated adhesion molecule, and CD47, an anti-phagocytic checkpoint, have been implicated in breast cancer chemoresistance, but their relationship to neoadjuvant response is poorly defined. We assessed both markers by immunohistochemistry in pre-treatment core biopsies from 43 women treated with neoadjuvant therapy at a single center. Total pathological complete response (pCR; ypT0/is ypN0), designated the primary endpoint during peer review, occurred in 12 patients (27.9%), and breast pCR (ypT0/is) in 14 (32.6%). Total pCR rates were 18.2% in CD44-positive and 38.1% in CD44-negative tumors (odds ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.09–1.46; Fisher exact p = 0.185). CD44 positivity was concentrated in rarely responding hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative tumors, and stratification by subtype moved the odds ratio toward the null (0.62; exact 95% CI, 0.07–5.25). For CD47, the odds ratio per one-point increase in immunoreactivity score was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.54–1.19; p = 0.264), but immunoreactivity was low (only two tumors reached the prespecified high-expression threshold) and possibly technically compromised, so these findings are inconclusive. No statistically detectable association was observed between either marker and total or breast pCR; treatment could not be adjusted for, and only very large effects were detectable. These exploratory data do not provide sufficient evidence to support CD44 or CD47 as response markers.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -