Bcl-2 and p53, two proteins, have implicated in apoptosis and among them p53 is known as adverse prognostic factor in a number of tumors. But it is variable in different tissues whether bcl-2 expression and its role are related in the prognosis. The present study was aimed to find the role of bcl-2 and p53 in prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer. We examined 32 epithelial ovarian cancer specimens of different histologic types and stages by immunohistochemical staining. Bcl-2 protein expression was found in 11/32 epithelial ovarian cancers and it was related in survival(p=0.0038) and p53 accumulation was found in 17/32 epithelial ovarian cancers but it was not rrelated in survival(p=0.0717). But bcl-2 expression and p53 accumulation were not related to the FIGO stages(p>0.05). The analysis of the postoperative course of 32 patients showed that survival depended on the FIGO stages(p=0.001 2) and the histologic type(p=0.009). However, bcl-2 immunohistochemistry identified a subgroup of patients with p53 and bcl-2 positive carcinomas who had not a statistically better outcome(p=0.082) than patients with p53 positive and bcl-2 negative carcinomas. Thus our observations point to different molecular alterations possibly underlying phenotypic diversity of ovarian carcinomas and provide clues for a better understanding of tumor progression in these neoplasms.
Apoptosis ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Prognosis