Prognostic significance of the expression of apoptosis and bcl-2 protein in lung cancer

OBJECTIVE:To investigate prognostic significance of the expressions of apoptosis and its correlating protein bcl-2 in lung cancer. METHODS: The expression of apoptosis and the positive expression of bcl-2 protein were observed in 116 cases of lung cancer by using DNA nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: In the specimens of 116 lung cancer,the expressions of cell apoptosis equal to or more than 0.1% were 48.28%(56/116), and the positive rates of bcl-2 protein expressions was 51.72%(60/116). Single factor analysis showed that apoptosis (χ2=8.31,P=0.003 9), bcl-2(χ2=4.41, P=0.035 7), the metastasis of lymph node (χ2=19.34,P= 0.000 1) and TNM stage (χ2=18.54,P=0.000 1) affected the prognosis of lung cancer patients. COX model showed that the metastasis of lymph node (χ2=19.28,P=0.001 0) and the positive rate of bcl-2 protein (χ2=5.80,P=0.016 0) were poor factors to the prognosis of lung cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Apoptosis and the correlated protein bcl-2 are the factors that affect the biology behavior and prognosis of lung cancer patients.