The authors showed that HCT-15 cells positive for CD44, a marker for cancer stem cells from many solid malignancies, were more susceptible to TRAIL-mediated cytotoxicity than CD44− HCT-15 cells, possibly due to increased levels of death receptors DR4 and DR5, as well as c-Myc, and decreased levels of c-FLIP in CD44+ cells compared to CD44− HCT-15 cells. Here, CD44 is linked to cancer.