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bcl‐2 expression and prognosis in squamous‐cell carcinomas of the esophagus
Author(s) -
Sarbia Mario,
Bittinger Fernando,
Porschen Rainer,
Verreet Patrick,
Dutkowski Philipp,
Willers Reinhart,
Gabbert Helmut E.
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(19960822)69:4<324::aid-ijc15>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - esophagus , immunohistochemistry , pathology , cell , oncogene , biology , esophageal cancer , esophageal disease , cancer , cancer research , medicine , cell cycle , genetics
The bcl ‐2 proto‐oncogene is a known inhibitor of apoptosis and may be an important regulator of tumor growth. In the present study, bcl‐2‐protein expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry and correlated with prognosis in a series of 150 potentially curatively resected squamous‐cell carcinomas of the esophagus. For comparison bcl‐2‐protein expression was analyzed in normal esophageal mucosa, severe squamous dysplasias and carcinomas in situ . bcl‐2 immunoreactivity was found in 48 out of 150 invasive squamous‐cell carcinomas; the remaining carcinomas were completely negative. bcl‐2‐protein expression was found more frequently among poorly differentiated than among well‐differentiated tumors ( p < 0.0001). No correlation was found between bcl‐2‐protein expression and the parameters tumor size, depth of invasion and nodal status. Moreover bcl‐2‐protein expression had no significant influence on overall survival. Whereas in normal mucosa bcl‐2 immunoreactivity was restricted to the basal‐cell layer, in 9 out of 15 severe squamous dysplasias and in 7 out of 14 carcinomas in situ bcl‐2 staining was detected in all epithelial layers. Thus bcl‐2‐protein is frequently expressed in invasive squamous‐cell carcinomas of the esophagus and in precursor lesions of esophageal cancer but has no significant impact on the outcome of esophageal cancer. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.