Table 1 CD44-targeted therapy in some preclinical and clinical studies
CD44-targeted agents | Cancer type | CD44 function | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
CD44 antibodies | |||
 CD44 blocking antibody | Lung cancer | Suppressing the proliferation of A549 cells | [139] |
 Monoclonal antibody (mAb) U36 specific to CD44v6 | Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | High tumor uptake | [140] |
 mAb (VFF18) to CD44v6 | Human squamous cell carcinomas | Fast tumor uptake | [141] |
 A humanized mAb for CD44 (RG7356) | Leukemia B cells | Cytotoxic effects | [142] |
 Anti-CD44 mAb (H4C4) | Melanoma | Blocking cell aggregation and aggregate coalescence | [108] |
CD44-targeting therapy via hyaluronic acid (HA) | |||
 USP22 small interfering RNA-loaded nanoliposomes with CD44 antibodies | Gastric cancer | Targeting CD44( +) gastric cancer stem cells | [144] |
 HA coated cationic liposomes of cabazitaxel (CBX) and silibinin (SIL) | Prostate cancer | Showing proficient cytotoxicity against CD44( +) cells | [147] |
 HA-coated gold nanorods conjugated with pH-sensitive groups and loaded with doxorubicin | Cancer | Enhancing the killing of cancer cells and the inhibition of tumor growth | [145] |
 Polyethylene glycol-HA nanoparticles conjugated with mitoxantrone | Breast cancer | Delivering toward CD44 receptor-positive MDA-MB-231 cells rather than the CD44-negative MCF-7 cells | [148] |
 Nanosystem containing gold nanostar/siRNA of heat shock protein 72/HA | Triple negative breast cancer | Selectively sensitizing CD44-positive TNBC cells to hyperthermia | [153] |
 A phase IIa study: HA-irinotecan and carboplatin versus standard irinotecan and carboplatin | Extensive-stage small cell lung cancer | Selectively delivering anti-tumor drugs to CD44-positive tumor cells with enhanced efficacy | [154] |