OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the prognostic value of 
cancer stem cell markers, namely CD133, NANOG, and NOTCH1, in early stage oral 
squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-four patients with early stage 
(cT1T2N0) OSCC were identified from a pre-existing database of patients with 
oral cancer. We examined the impact of the immunohistochemical expression of 
CD133, NANOG, and NOTCH1 in OSCC. Overall survival (OS) curves were calculated 
using the Kaplan-Meier method. Predictors of outcome were identified using 
multivariate analysis.
RESULTS: We found that CD133, NANOG, and NOTCH1 were significantly associated 
with lymph node metastasis, and NOTCH1 was also significantly associated with 
depth of invasion and locoregional recurrence.
CONCLUSIONS: NOTCH1 was identified as an independent prognostic factor for OS.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: NOTCH1 might prove to be a useful indicator for high-risk 
patients with occult metastases from early stage OSCC.