The relationships between the expression of CD133, Ki-67 and prognosis in Chinese gastric adenocarcinoma are unknown and needs exploring.

The samples of gastric adenocarcinoma from 336 Chinese patients with follow-up were analyzed for CD133 and Ki-67 protein expressions by immunohistochemical method.

CD133 was expressed in up to 57.4% (193/336) of this group of gastric carcinoma. The expression of CD133 was significantly higher in carcinoma than in normal (P=0.0001) and dysplastic mucosas (P=0.004). CD133 was positive corresponded with the tumour size, grade, infiltrative depth and clinical stage (all P<0.05). The overall mean survival time of the patients with CD133 positive expression was shorter than that of patients with negative expression (P=0.0001). The expression of CD133 has a positive correlation with that of Ki-67 (r=0.188, P=0.001) in gastric adenocarcinoma. CD133 was an independent prognostic indicator. (P=0.0001).

It is suggested that CD133 may play an important role in the evolution of gastric adenocarcinoma and should be considered as a potential marker for the prognosis.

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