title: The prevalence of BCL-2 immunoreactivity in breast carcinomas and its clinicopathological correlates, with particular reference to oestrogen receptor status.
abstract: BCL-2 protein plays a pivotal role in overriding programmed cell death (apoptosis), thus favouring a prolonged survival of normal and neoplastic cells. Expression of the bcl-2 gene has been documented in some human tumours (non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and prostatic adenocarcinomas), but findings in breast carcinomas have not been reported. We have used the monoclonal antibody 124 to investigate BCL-2 expression in 212 breast carcinomas, and to correlate it with the oestrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) status, and with other clinicopathological variables including tumour type, grade, stage, growth fraction (as evaluated by Ki-67 immunostaining), and p53 accumulation. Of the 212 carcinomas, 173 (81.6%) exhibited BCL-2 immunoreactivity in more than 25% of the neoplastic cells. BCL-2 immunoreactivity was strongly correlated with ER and PR expression (P < 0.00001), with the lobular type (P = 0.012) and with better differentiated neoplasms (P = 0.00003), whereas it was inversely correlated with EGFR (P < 0.00001), p53 (P = 0.0004) and Ki-67 (P = 0.0002) immunoreactivities. No association was found with tumour stage (T and N categories). We conclude that bcl-2 expression in breast cancers is related to the oestrogen-dependent transcription pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, City Hospital of Feltre, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doglioni
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Dei Tos
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Laurino
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiarelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barbareschi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D066246:ErbB Receptors