title: HLA-DR antigen and bax protein expression in patients with primary non-Hodgkin's gastric lymphoma.
abstract: Primary gastric lymphoma represents a rare gastrointestinal malignancy with an unclear prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of HLA-DR antigen and bax expression in patients with primary non-Hodgkin's gastric lymphoma. We immunohistochemically studied bax protein and HLA-DR antigen expression in 36 B-cell, MALT-type primary gastric lymphoma patients diagnosed and treated in our department from 1990 to 1995. Ten non-malignant gastric tissue specimens were used as benign controls. Clinicopathological and survival data were correlated with the staining results. HLA-DR antigen expression was observed in 33 gastric lymphoma patients (91.7%). Positive bax staining was found in 24 gastric lymphomas (66.7%) and in none of the benign cases studied. In the univariate analysis, those gastric lymphoma patients who expressed HLA-DR antigen in more than 15% of their tumor cells, presented a significantly improved 5-year survival rate (75% vs. 37.5%, p = 0.04). Furthermore, gastric lymphoma patients who were bax(+)/HLA-DR(+) had a statistically better overall survival compared to those who were bax(-)/HLA-DR(-) (82.4% vs. 25%, p = 0.01). HLA-DR antigen expression was associated with a favorable clinical outcome. Its expression improved the predictive value of bax protein expression in non-Hodgkin's gastric lymphoma patients. The combined use of these markers permits the identification of a high-risk group of patients that may benefit from a more aggressive therapeutic approach.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Surgical Research, First Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, Hippokration Hospital, Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darom
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Gomatos
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leandros
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Xatziyiannis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fotiadis
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Konstadoulakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018442:Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein
chemical_list: C494826:BAX protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein