High CD44 Immunoexpression Correlates with Poor Overall Survival: Assessing the Role of Cancer Stem Cell Markers in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients from the High-Risk Population of Pakistan

Table 6

Cox regression univariate analysis (n = 100).

Characteristic	Overall survival				Disease-free survival
		Hazard ratio	95% CI			Hazard ratio	95% CI
		HR	Lower	Upper		HR	Lower	Upper
Gender		100				100
Male		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Female	0.598	1.154	0.678	1.962	0.632	0.893	0.562	1.419
Age division		100				100
< 40 Years		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
> 40 Years	0.931	0.969	0.472	1.987	0.381	0.769	0.427	1.385
Primary tumour site		100				100
Tongue		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Cheek	0.291	0.738	0.419	1.297	0.049	1.655	1.002	2.734
Tonsil		100				100
No		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Yes	0.004	8.999	2.016	40.167	0.007	7.691	1.731	34.18
Skin		100				100
No		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Yes	0.097	2.699	0.836	8.718	0.045	3.316	1.029	10.69
Primary margins		100				100
Clear	0.007	1.0 (ref)			0.11	1.0 (ref)
Near	0.045	1.856	1.014	3.396	0.109	1.535	0.909	2.594
Involved	0.003	3.091	1.454	6.572	0.004	2.756	1.372	5.537
T classification		100				100
T1	0.135	1.0 (ref)			0.156	1.0 (ref)
T2	0.215	1.655	0.746	3.675	0.39	1.324	0.698	2.512
T3	0.085	2.23	0.896	5.548	0.162	1.732	0.802	3.743
T4	0.027	2.803	1.124	6.991	0.034	2.28	1.066	4.874
N classification		100				100
N0	<0.001	1.0 (ref)			0.031	1.0 (ref)
N1	0.004	2.888	1.415	5.89	0.082	1.833	0.925	3.635
N2	<0.001	4.148	1.89	9.103	0.025	2.364	1.114	5.018
AJCC stage		100				100
I	0.004	1.0 (ref)			0.038	1.0 (ref)
II	0.345	1.579	0.612	4.075	0.436	1.329	0.65	2.717
III	0.033	2.789	1.088	7.129	0.143	1.755	0.827	3.726
IV	0.002	4.259	1.681	10.792	0.009	2.644	1.269	5.512
Radiotherapy		100				100
Yes		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
No	0.029	1.950	1.071	3.552	0.247	0.749	0.459	1.222
CD44		100				100
Low		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
High	0.051	1.71	0.999	2.927	0.246	1.346	0.815	2.223
CD133		100				100
Negative		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Positive	0.615	0.837	0.418	1.676	0.996	0.998	0.568	1.756
L1CAM		100				100
Negative		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Positive	0.491	1.208	0.706	2.066	0.272	1.304	0.812	2.092
SOX2		100				100
Negative		1.0 (ref)				1.0 (ref)
Positive	0.321	1.247	0.668	2.325	0.265	1.364	0.79	2.353

taken as significant.