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bcl ‐2/ bax mRNA expression ratio as prognostic factor in low‐grade urinary bladder cancer
Author(s) -
Gazzaniga Paola,
Gradilone Angela,
Vercillo Roberta,
Gandini Orietta,
Silvestri Ida,
Napolitano Maria,
Albonici Loredana,
Vincenzoni Andrea,
Gallucci Michele,
Frati Luigi,
Aglianó AnnaMaria
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19960422)69:2<100::aid-ijc5>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - grading (engineering) , apoptosis , bladder cancer , programmed cell death , urinary bladder , cancer research , gene expression , biology , bcl 2 associated x protein , cell , gene , pathology , cancer , medicine , oncology , caspase 3 , genetics , ecology
Apoptotic cell death represents an important mechanism for the precise regulation of cell numbers, and a defence mechanism against tumoral cells. bcl ‐2 and bax genes are known to be involved in the control of apoptotic pathways; in particular, the ratio between bcl ‐2 and bax represents a cell rheostat that is able to predict a cell's response toward life or death to an apoptotic stimulus. In the present study we investigated the role of bcl ‐2 and bax gene expression in a panel of 37 low‐grade tumours of the urinary bladder, and correlated the expression of these genes to the prognosis of patients in a follow‐up of more than one year. We found that levels of bax expression higher than bcl ‐2 in bladder tumours well correlates to a better outcome for patients. Early relapses are much more frequently observed in those patients whose tumours express more bcl ‐2 than bax mRNA. We conclude that the bcl ‐2/ bax expression ratio may be considered as a marker for disease progression in low grade bladder tumours, independently of clinical staging and histological grading. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.