Abstract:Objective To clarify the clinical role of CD133 expression in gastric cancer and to investigate the correlation between CD133 expression and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α expression. Methods Totally 189 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy in the Fourth Hospital of Changsha City were studied. CD133 and HIF-1α expressions were examined using immunohistochemical staining. Fifty-six cases were CD133-positive, and they were divided into two expression types: luminal expression of the gland and cytoplasmic expression. The clinicopathological variables, prognosis and HIF-1a expression were compared among the three groups of different CD133-expression types. Results The expression of CD133 in the cytoplasm was correlated to metastasis and tumor progression. However, this relationship was not observed with luminal expression type of the gland. The survival rate in the patients with cytoplasmic CD133 expression was significantly lower than that in the CD133-negative group. The same relationship was observed in the survival rate of the adjuvant chemotherapy group and the curative resection group. Multivariate analysis revealed that the expression of CD133 in the cytoplasm was an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer. HIF-1α positive rate was higher in the patients with cytoplasmic CD133 expression than in those with luminal CD133 expression. Conclusions Gastric cancer cells with CD133 expression in the cytoplasm have high potential for malignancy, and this phenotype is associated with cancer progression, chemotherapy resistance, recurrence and poor prognosis. Cytoplasmic expression of CD133 may be a useful prognostic marker for gastric cancer. A significant correlation is observed between HIF-1α expression and the immunohistochemical staining pattern of CD133.