bcl-2/bax mRNA expression ratio as prognostic factor in low-grade urinary bladder cancer
1996; Wiley; Volume: 69; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19960422)69
ISSN1097-0215
AutoresPaola Gazzaniga, Angela Gradilone, Roberta Vercillo, Orietta Gandini, Ida Silvestri, Maria Napolitano, Loredana Albonici, Vincenzoni Andrea, Michele Gallucci, L. Frati, Anna-Maria Aglianó,
Tópico(s)Bladder and Urothelial Cancer Treatments
ResumoApoptotic 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.
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