Expression of p53 and bcl-2 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors and their relation to prognosis

Purpose To explore the expression of apoptosis-related gene p53 and bcl-2 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GISTs)and their relation to the prognosis.Methods Tissue microarray(TMA)has been constructed in 194 cases of GISTs and EnVision method of immunohistochemistry was used to detect p53 and bcl-2 expression.Results 184(94.8%) cases among p53 TMA blocks were available,while 181(93.3%) among bcl-2 TMA were available for analysis.The positive expression rate of p53 and bcl-2 was 34.8% and 59.1% respectively.The positive expression of p53 was related to tumor size,NIH grading,primary location of tumor,necrosis,cellularity of tumor cells,mitoses accounts,recurrences and metastases of tumor.The positive expression of bcl-2 was related to tumor size,NIH grading,primary location of tumor,necrosis and mucosal invasion.The 5-year survival rates of those with or without p53 expression were 40.1% and 76.5% respectively.There was significant difference between the two groups(P0.01).The 5-year survival rates of those with or without bcl-2 expression were 55.1% and 76.2% respectively.There was statistical significance difference between positive bcl-2 expression group and negative group(P0.01).Conclusions The expression of p53 and bcl-2 is closely related with the prognosis of GISTs and may be considered as a marker for prognosis of GISTs.