title: Bcl-2 protein and prognosis in patients with potentially curable non-small-cell lung cancer.
abstract: The bcl-2 proto-oncogene functions as a cell death suppressor, and its expression prolongs cell survival by blocking apoptosis. Data available on the clinical relevance of bcl-2 protein expression in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are controversial. We analysed the role of bcl-2 protein expression on 6-year relapse-free survival in 229 patients with stage I-IIIa NSCLC (101 squamous cell carcinomas and 128 adenocarcinomas) subjected to surgery, with curative intent. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on archival material by using a monoclonal antibody anti-bcl-2 (clone 124). Bcl-2 protein expression, which was detected in 22% of the cases, was significantly related to stage, histology and grading, and was an indicator of clinical outcome. The probability of relapse-free survival at 6 years was longer for patients with bcl-2-positive tumours (74%) than for those with bcl-2-negative tumours (57%) (P=0.02). This finding was mainly evident for the subgroups of patients with stage IIIa tumours (P=0.05), squamous cell carcinoma (P=0.03) or moderately/poorly differentiated tumours (P=0.02). However, multivariate analysis by Weibull's regression model indicated that bcl-2 protein expression was not an independent prognostic risk factor in patients with curable NSCLC when the information provided by stage was available.
authors.affiliation: Oncologia Sperimentale C, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silvestrini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lequaglie
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mochen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Veneroni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leutner
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ravasi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2