Antibody Against CD44s Inhibits Pancreatic Tumor Initiation and Postradiation Recurrence in Mice

The TIC marker CD44s is up-regulated in human pancreatic tumors and associated with patient survival time. CD44s is required for initiation, growth, metastasis, and postradiation recurrence of xenograft tumors in mice. Anti-CD44s eliminated bulk tumor cells as well as TICs from the tumors. Strategies to target CD44s cab be developed to block pancreatic tumor formation and post-radiotherapy recurrence in patients.