title: Expression of bcl-2 oncogene product in primary non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma of the oral cavity.
abstract: The B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (bcl-2) proto-oncogene is peculiar, as its product appears to provide survival advantage to B cells by blocking apoptosis. Expression of bcl-2 protein was analyzed in 54 cases of primary non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphomas of the oral cavity by immunohistologic staining of paraffin-embedded tissue. The immunophenotype of each tumor was established with the use of a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to lymphoid cell differentiation antigens. The cases in the present study were 42 B-cell lymphomas, 7 T-cell lymphomas and 5-lymphomas revealing histiocytic markers. Sixteen of the 42 B-cell lymphomas were positive for bcl-2 protein, and were composed of 7 low-grade B-cell lymphomas and 9 high-grade B-cell lymphomas. Seven low-grade B-cell lymphomas were composed of one mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type, three centrocytic types and three centroblastic-centrocytic types. Nine high-grade B-cell lymphomas comprised four centroblastic types, one immunoblastic type and four lymphoblastic types. Enhanced expression of the bcl-2 oncogenic protein was detectable in lymphoma cells in 2 cases for the T-cell lymphoma, and one case for the true histiocytic lymphoma. In contrast to the previous reports of American node-based lymphomas, Japanese primary oral lymphomas in our series expressed a lower frequency of bcl-2 protein. Furthermore, the present study indicated that bcl-2 protein was expressed on a wide variety of B-cell lymphomas, T-cell lymphomas and true histiocytic lymphoma, and that differences in bcl-2 protein expression may be useful in the diagnostic separation of lymphoblastic lymphoma with B-cell marker from Burkitt's lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawazoe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okabe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hideshima
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tezuka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000378:metabolism; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000378:metabolism*; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
chemical_list: C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2