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. 2008 Oct 28;14(40):6218-23.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.6218.

Bcl-2 expression significantly correlates with thymidylate synthase expression in colorectal cancer patients

Riyad Bendardaf  1 , Raija Ristamaki, Kari Syrjanen, Seppo Pyrhonen
Affiliations

Bcl-2 expression significantly correlates with thymidylate synthase expression in colorectal cancer patients

Riyad Bendardaf et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To examine the expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and oncoprotein Bcl-2 in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and to determine their mutual relationship, association to therapeutic response and impact on disease outcome.

Methods: Tumor samples from 67 patients with CRC, who were treated at advanced stage with either irinotecan alone or in combination with 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin, were analyzed for expression of TS and Bcl-2 using immunohistochemistry.

Results: A significant linear correlation between lower expression levels of Bcl-2 and lower levels of TS expression was found (P = 0.033). Patients with high levels of both TS and Bcl-2 expression had a significantly longer disease-free survival (DFS) (42.6 mo vs 5.4 mo, n = 25) than those with low TS/Bcl-2 index (P = 0.001). Tumors with low levels of both TS and Bcl-2 were associated with a longer survival with metastasis (WMS) interval in the whole patients group (n = 67, P = 0.035). TS/Bcl-2 index was not significantly related to disease-specific survival.

Conclusion: The present data suggest that CRC patients with low TS/Bcl-2 demonstrate a significantly shorter DFS and longer WMS.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of expression of Bcl-2 and staining of TS. A: High expression of Bcl-2; B: Low expression of Bcl-2; C: High staining of TS expression; D: Low staining of TS expression.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Univariate (Kaplan-Meier) analysis. A:TS/Bcl-2 expression and disease free survival (DFS); B:TS/Bcl-2 expression and survival with metastases (WMS).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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