Research Article Open AccessRecently, Gao et al. found that the di-fucosylated Lewis Y (LeY) antigen is part of the composition of CD44 and their increased expression is correlated with enhanced CD44-mediated cell adhesion and migration [8]. Also, increased expression of LeY antigen and CD44 were associated with elevated resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs such as platinum agents, taxanes, 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and mitomycin [9][10][11][12].Although the effects of alternative splicing and post-translational glycosylation of CD44 on its interaction with HA have been studied in several tumor types, few data has described the effect of these alterations in LACSCC. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of CD44 and LeY antigen in the outcome LACSCC patients. Patients and methods Patients:One hundred twenty six women with histologically proven diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma for uterine cervix, treated at the Abstract Background: Several mechanisms are involved in the development of resistance to therapy in LACSCC. Studies have shown that CD44 and Lewis Y antigen (LeY) form a complex that is associated with chemoresistance, tumor invasion and metastasis. We assessed the role of CD44 and LeY in the outcome of LACSCC patients (pts) treated with different chemotherapy regimens. Methods:A total of 126 LACSCC pts FIGO stages IIB-IVA were selected from GOCS databases: 74 pts included in three different prospective phase II trials in the neoadjuvant setting (vinorelbine, docetaxel, ifosfamide-vinorelbinecisplatin) and 52 pts treated with standard radio-chemotherapy based in cisplatin (RCBC). Clinical data at baseline, disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were recorded. Univariate and multivariate Cox models were employed.Results: Median age was 45.6 years (range: 24.9 -80.5). Sixty-three and 47 tumors were CD44+ and LeY+, respectively. Expansive growth tumors showed a higher grade (p=.0024), mitotic index (p=.0505), tumoral necrosis (p=.0191), LeY+ (p=.0034) and CD44+/LeY+ co-expression (p=.0334). CD44+ cells were present in 91.3% of those with local recurrence (p=.0317). Advanced stage was associated with LeY+ tumors (p=.0057). Pts treated with RCBC had worse DFS and OS when their tumors expressed LeY antigen (p=.0083 and p=.0137, respectively). Pre-treatment hemoglobin level, FIGO stage and tumor response remained the most significant prognostic factors in Cox regression. Conclusions:In our cohort of LACSCC pts, the co-expression of CD44+/LeY+ was not associated with worse outcome. However, in the subgroup of pts receiving RCBC, LeY expression was correlated with shorter DFS and OS.