Understanding the dual nature of CD44 in breast cancer progression

CD44 has been the subject of extensive research for more than 3 decades because of its role in breast cancer, in addition to many physiological processes, but interestingly, conflicting data implicate CD44 in both tumor suppression and tumor promotion. CD44 has been shown to promote protumorigenic signaling and advance the metastatic cascade. On the other hand, CD44 has been shown to suppress growth and metastasis. Histopathological studies of human breast cancer have correlated CD44 expression with both favorable and unfavorable clinical outcomes. In recent years, CD44 has garnered significant attention because of its utility as a stem cell marker and has surfaced as a potential therapeutic target, necessitating a greater understanding of CD44 in breast cancer. In this review, we attempt to unify the literature implicating CD44 in both tumor promotion and suppression, and explain its dualistic nature.