CD44 and cancer: In breast cancer, one such cell population is characterized by several molecular markers (CD44 positive, NRP1 high, ALDH1 positive, and CD24 low) and is often referred to as the cancer stem-like cell (CSC) population or tumor-initiating cells (Al-Hajj et al, 2003; Bianchini et al, 2016; Ginestier et al, 2007; Tominaga et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2019).