Expression of Bcl-2 in Breast Cancer: Correlation with Clinicopathological Characteristics and Survival

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. It is an immensely heterogeneous disease, characterised by a broad variety of clinical development. The research in recent years has focused on finding new markers of prognosis. This study investigates the role of expression of the bcl-2 protein in breast cancer. We analysed bcl-2 expression in 57 women with primary breast carcinoma who were treated with neoadjuvant (primary) chemotherapy, followed by a surgical procedure. The bcl-2 expression was correlated with other clinicopathological characteristics of the tumour – histological grade, stage, expression of hormonal receptors, proliferation rate, and with the survival of the patients. No significant association of bcl-2 expression with either overall survival or disease free survival was found.

Keywords

• Breast cancer
• bcl-2
• Apoptosis
• Prognostic factor
• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy