CD44 and gastric cancer: In GC tissues, E2F1 was positively correlated with BMI1 (r = 0.422, p < 0.005), OCT4 (r = 0.456, p < 0.005), Nanog (r = 0.337, p < 0.005), and CD44 (r = 0.643, p < 0.005), indicating a relationship between E2F1 and stemness properties in GC.