title: Serum and tissue c-erb B2, bcl-2, and mutant p53 oncoprotein levels in nasopharyngeal cancer.
abstract: To date there are no prognostic factors that can account for the biology and disease behavior in nasopharyngeal cancer. Therefore, identification of new factors that can help in predicting the behavior of the disease and characterizing the subgroup with more aggressive tumors more likely to benefitfrom chemotherapy is important. In this study, c-erb B2, bcl-2, and mutant p53 protein levels were investigated in sera and tumor tissue of patients with nasopharyngeal cancer. Serum c-erb B2 levels were significantly higher in the patients than in the healthy subjects. No meaningful difference was observed between the serum and tissue levels of the mutant p53 protein. Tissue bcl-2 concentrations were considerably high. Our results suggest that serum c-erb B2 levels may aid in identifying a subgroup of patients with a poorer response rate to first-line treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Oncology, I. U. Oncology Institute, Istanbul University, Turkey.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yazici
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hafiz
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dalay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53