Clinical significance of Bcl-2 protein expression in adult acute leukemia

Objective:To investigate the expression of Bcl-2 protein in adult acute leukemia to see whether it can be used as an index of drug resistance.Method:72 adult acute myeloid leukemia and adult lymphoblastic leukemia patients were divided into three groups: de novo group (18 cases), complete remission group (38 cases) and relapse group (16 cases). the Bcl-2 protein expression was detected by flow cytometry and monoclonal antibody.Result:1.Rates of positive expression of Bcl-2 protein in de novo group, CR group and relapse group were 11.11%, 18.42%, 62.50%, respectively. The expression of Bcl-2 protein was higher in relapse group than that in de novo and CR groups (P= 0.0018, P= 0.0015), there were no difference between the expression of Bcl-2 protein in de novo and CR group (P= 0.49). 2.Rates of expression of Bcl-2 protein in ALL and AML were 22.2% and 27.80%(P= 0.44). 3.Rates of complete remission between positive and negative expression of Bcl-2 protein were 36.84% and 77.36%.Conclusion:Our result demonstrated that Bcl-2 protein was highly expressed in relapse group, and expression of Bcl-2 protein was significantly associated with a lower CR rate.