[Study on expression of apoptosis related genes in non-small cell carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between the expression of apoptosis related genes in the tissue of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and clinicopathology in the tumor. METHODS: The expression of bcl-2, bax, Fas and FasL were detected with immunohistochemistry method in 45 cases of NSCLC. RESULTS: 23 (51%) cases of NSCLC were bcl-2 positive, 38 (84%) were bax positive (P < 0.01), and there was no significant correlation between the expression of bcl-2 and bax protein, but a positive relationship was found between the expression of Fas and FasL (P < 0.01). The positive rate of bcl-2 expression decreased in advanced stages of NSCLC(P < 0.05), the bax expression was lower in cases with poor cell differentiation (P < 0.05), and the FasL expression was higher in adenocarcinoma (P < 0.01). The simultaneous expression of bcl-2 and bax protein was closely correlated with TNM stages (P < 0.05), the differences of bcl-2 protein expression alone in NSCLC with cell differentiation were statistically significant (P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: Both bcl-2, bax, Fas and FasL may involve in the regulation of apoptosis and may play an important role in the occurrence and progression of NSCLC.