[Presence of bcl-2 and p53 proteins in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at Zadar General Hospital].
OBJECTIVE
The presence of bcl-2 and p53 was retrospectively analyzed in 37 previously untreated patients, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the period between 1980 and 1998.


METHODS
According to all positivity in analyzed preparations, all lymphoma were divided into three categories: negative (-) with less than 1 per cent of positive tumor cells for the above-mentioned oncogenes; moderately positive (+) with 1 to 50 per cent of positive tumor cells, and extremely positive (+ +) with over 50 per cent of tumor cells.


RESULTS
Twenty-seven (73%) patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were bcl-2 negative, seven (19%) were bcl-2 positive (+), and only one (3%) patient was extremely positive for bcl-2. Bcl-2 was present in follicular lymphomas regardless of the intensity, whereas its presence was not recorded in other subtypes of indolent lymphomas. Bcl-2 was moderately positive (+) in six of 11 patients with follicular lymphoma. As for aggressive lymphomas, bcl-2 was present in three patients, one (3%) of them diagnosed with follicular lymphoma grade III and moderately positive (+) bcl-2. The other two patients were diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, with moderate (+) and extreme (+ +) bcl-2 positivity recorded in one patient each. P53 was negative (-) in six (16%), positive (+) in 27 (73%) and extremely positive (+ +) in four (11%) patients. Positive p53 was found in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma regardless of the level of malignancy.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated that the expression of oncogenes could be determined in the archival material of lymph node biopsy. The results on oncogene expression were consistent with the expected incidence based on other characteristics of the study population.
Skunca
Zeljka
Z
Odjel za hematologiju, Opća bolnica Zadar, Zadar, Hrvatska.
Gverić-Krecak
Velka
V
Dominis
Mara
M
Planinc-Peraica
Ana
A
Jaksić
Branimir
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000032:analysis*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis*
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53