Expressions and significances of tumor stem cells markers-ALDH1 and CD133 in breast cancer

Objective:To explore the sensitivities and specificities of aldehyde dehydrogenase-1(ALDH1) and CD133 as tumor stem cells markers by detecting their expressions.Methods:Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expressions of ALDH1 and CD133 in human breast cancer tissue.Results:The positive expression rate of ALDH1 in breast cancer was 40.74%,the positive staining was mainly located in cytoplasm of breast cancer cells,the nucleus was not stained,the positive cells were distributed in breast cancer tissue diffusely and partial areas densely.The positive staining of CD133 were located in the cellular membrane and cytoplasm,the nucleus was not stained.Among 27 cases with invasive ductal carcinoma,6 cases were found with positive CD133,the positive rate was 22.22%,which increased with the increase of histological grades of breast cancer.Conclusion:ALDH1 and CD133 can be used as special markers of breast cancer stem cells.