All issues > Volume 40(9); 1997

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1997;40(9):1265-1274. Published online September 15, 1997.

Immunohistochemical Study of Bcl-2 Oncoprotein Expression in Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Sung Mee SM Kim¹, Jin Hwa JH Jung¹, Jeong Ho JH Lee¹, Jong Dae JD Jo¹, Young Tak YT Lim², Do Youn DY Park³, Sun Kyeung SK Lee³

¹Department of Pediatrics, Marynoll Hosipital, Pusan, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea
³Department of Pathology, Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
: The aim of the present study was to assess the clinicopatholgical significance of Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression in childhood non-Hodgkin' s lymphoma(NHL).
Methods
: We have assessed 16 cases of childhood NHL during last 6 years from 1990 to 1995. Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression has been semiquantitatively analyzed in paraffin sections from 16 cases of childhood NHL with 39 control cases of adult NHL. The expression of Bcl-2 oncoprotein was correlated with histologic grade, immunophenotype, proliferative activity as measured by immunostain of Ki-67 antigen, clinical stage, and survival rate(event free survival rate, EFS).
Results
: 1) Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression significantly decreased according to increase of histological grade(P < 0.05). 2) High Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression was more frequent in B-cell NHL than T-cell NHL(P < 0.05). 3) Proliferative activity as measured by immunostain of Ki-67 antigen was negatively correlated with Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression(P < 0.05). 4) Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression was not correlated with clinical stage(P > 0.05). 5) EFS of patients was significantly correlated with Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression, that is, reduced EFS was demonstrated in the patients with low Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
: Thus Bcl-2 oncoprotein, as demonstrated immunohistochemically in routinely paraffin embedded tissue, can be restrictively used in prediction of prognosis and grade of childhood NHL, in aggrement with the role of Bcl-2 oncoprotein in blocking of apoptosis and indirect contribution to increase of cellular proliferative activity of NHL.

Keywords :Bcl-2 oncoprotein, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Children