COX-2 and bcl-2 Expression and Their Relations to the Behavior of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Objective To study the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 ( COX-2 ) and bcl-2 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC) and their relations to the clinicopathological features.Methods COX-2 and bcl-2 protein expression in 86 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was examined by using immunohistochemical staining.All cases had been followed up 5 years.Results The overexpression rate of COX-2 in NPC was 73.3% (63/86) and it was correlated to primary tumor stage,lymph node metastasis,pathological grade,clinicopathological stage and shorter survival.Expression of bcl-2 protein was detectable in 84.9% (73/86) of NPC and it was not related to tumor type,pathological grade,and primary tumor stage and lyphom node metastasis.The positive rate of bcl-2 expression was 93.3% in patients who survived ≤5 years,whereas 75.6% in patients who survived 5 years(P 0.05 ).Conclusion COX-2 highly expressed in NPC.It may be associated with the development of NPC and an improtant marker for the assesment of prognosis.The efficacy of bcl-2 on the development of NPC needs to be further observed.