Expression of the Apoptosis suppressing protein bcl-2 in prostatic adenocarcinoma is related to tumor malignancy

Immunohistochemical BCL-2 and Ki-67 expression predict survival in prostate cancer patients followed expectantly

“…30,31 Moreover, studies of BCL-2 expression in relation to histopathological grade have also been characterized by con¯icting results. In accordance with several previous studies, 30,33,36±39 but in contrast to others, 31,32,34,35,40 we found no association between BCL-2 expression and histopathological grade (P 0.8; Table 1). Thereby, our result supports the suggestion of BCL-2 expression and histopathological grade being two independent prognostic markers in prostate cancer disease.…”

“…Although, previous studies most frequently have concerned patients subjected to theoretically curable treatment, similar correlations have been demonstrated by others. 32,33,35 However, Stattin et al 31 only experienced a slight and insigni®cant association between longer cancer-speci®c survival and low BCL-2 index in 150 untreated prostate cancer patients. In accordance with some previous studies 33,35 our multivariable analyses demonstrated an insigni®cant prognostic value of BCL-2 expression in both the entire population (P 0.1) and the clinically localized subpopulation (P 0.2).…”

Antisense Bcl-2 sensitizes prostate cancer cells to radiation

“…Bcl-2 is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers, including prostate cancer (4)(5)(6). In prostate cancer, overexpression of bcl-2 is associated with prostate tumor aggressiveness (7)(8)(9). Moreover, Bcl-2 protein is increased in the majority of tumors from men with androgen-refractory disease and is associated with resistance to androgen deprivation and RT (4,6,(10)(11)(12)(13).…”

Germline BCL-2 sequence variants and inherited predisposition to prostate cancer

“…19,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Overexpression of the BCL-2 gene may predispose dysplastic epithelium to genetic instability, which may lead to neoplasia and the invasive phenotype. To our knowledge, there are no published reports on the relationship between genetic alterations in the antiapoptotic-related gene, namely BCL-2, and prostate cancer risk.…”

“…15 Moreover, higher bcl-2 immunostaining was associated with more advanced prostate cancer, (i.e., higher Gleason grade), suggesting that an increase in this antiapoptotic protein may occur during the progression of prostate cancer. [16][17][18][19] Lastly, Mc Conkey et al 20 demonstrated an increased expression level of bcl-2 and loss of bax (proapoptotic) expression in prostatic carcinoma cells. Based on these studies, we hypothesized that genetic alteration in antiapoptotic genes, including BCL-2, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer, presumably owing to an accumulation of genetically altered and transformed cells.…”