Figure 6

CD44⁺CD54⁺ R-CICs resist FolFox and cetuximab therapy in vivo. (a) The definition of CD44⁺CD54⁺ and CD44⁺CD54⁻ cellular populations in rectospheroids and the resultant purity after cell sorting. (b) Treatment of tumor-bearing mice generated from CD44⁺CD54⁺ R-CICs, CD44⁺CD54⁻, and caco-2 cells with cetuximab, FolFox, and cetuximab plus FolFox in vivo. Data are mean tumor size±S.D. of five tumors per group derived from two independent experiments from different patients. (^#P<0.01, CD44⁺CD54⁻ compared with its control; **P<0.01, *P<0.05; Caco2 cells compared with its control). (c) Survival of tumor-bearing mice derived from CD44⁺CD54⁺ R-CICs (P=0.684, cetuximab; P=0.824, FolFox; P=0.207, FolFox–cetuximab), CD44⁺CD54⁻ (P=0.019, cetuximab; P=0.001, FolFox; P=0.067, FolFox–cetuximab), and caco-2 cells (P=0.003, cetuximab; P=0.003, FolFox; P=0.003, FolFox–cetuximab) treated with different regimens