A strong, positive correlation was found between the percentage of CD44+/CD24− cells and the presence of distant metastasis (p = 0.0001) and p53 expression (p = 0.016); no correlation was found with tumour size (T), regional lymph node status (N), differentiation grade, proliferative index (percentage of Ki67-positive cells) or HER2 amplification status. This evidence concerns the gene CD44 and neoplasm.