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. 1999 Jun;80(7):1075–1079. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6690466

Bcl-2 expression related to altered p53 protein and its impact on the progression of human pancreatic carcinoma

Y-X Hu 1,1, H Watanabe 1, K Ohtsubo 1, Y Yamaguchi 1, A Ha 1, Y Motoo 1, T Okai 1, N Sawabu 1
PMCID: PMC2363052  PMID: 10362119

Abstract

p53 and Bcl-2 are two important factors related to apoptosis and tumorigenesis. In this study, a series of 52 cases of pancreatic carcinoma (PC) were investigated using an immunohistochemical assay to determine whether altered expression of Bcl-2 and p53 has an impact on the progression of this malignancy. Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for Bcl-2 and nuclear staining of p53 was found in 12 (23.1%) and 32 (63.5%) cases of PC respectively. Furthermore, an inverse correlation between the expression of p53 and Bcl-2 existed in this series (P < 0.01). In a subgroup, the proportion of tumours showing that p53-positive and Bcl-2-negative staining was increased with increasing histological grade and clinical stage (P < 0.05), and moreover, the survival period of those patients whose tumour had this staining was shorter than those with other staining patterns of combined p53 and Bcl-2 (P < 0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that simultaneously aberrant expression of Bcl-2 and p53 may confer PC with more malignant clinicopathological characteristics. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: p53 protein, Bcl-2 protein, apoptosis, pancreatic carcinoma, immunohistochemistry

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Selected References

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