Abstract:Objective To evaluate the prognostic significance of CD24 protein overexpression in patients treated with post-operative radiotherapy (RT) after surgery. Methods We determined the CD24 expression status of 140 patients with cervical carcinoma treated with RT alone or with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) after radical hysterectomy procedures. Results CD24 expression was detected in 59 patients (42 %) and was significantly associated with locoregional failure-free survival (LRFFS) (P = 0.022), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) (P = 0.000), and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.005). In the multivariate analysis, CD24 positivity was also significantly associated with DMFS (P = 0.025) and OS (P = 0.045). CD24 expression was associated with DMFS (P = 0.000) in the CRT group. However, CD24 expression was associated with LRFFS (P = 0.020) in the RT alone group. Conclusions CD24 expression is an independent prognostic marker in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, even with post-hysterectomy adjuvant treatment. This study revealed a different prognostic role for CD24 expression in adjuvant CRT and RT alone treatment groups after surgery. New therapeutic strategies targeting CD24 expression stratified by subgroups might have important clinical implications.