Correlation between Serum Anti-Apoptotic Bcl-2 Level and its Immunohistochemical Expression in Relation to Apoptosis in Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC) remains a major public health problem worldwide being the third commonest cause of cancer death worldwide. Many recent studies focus on the immunohistochemical evaluation of Bcl-2 expression and its serum expression and its prognostic significance in gastric cancer each one separately. We conducted our study to determine the correlation between serum Bcl-2 antigen and gastric carcinoma, to investigate whether serum Bcl-2 concentrations can be used as marker for immunohistochemical determination of Bcl-2 alterations in gastric cancer patients and examine the association between its expression and other clinicopathological parameters. Methods: Our study conducted in Forty-five consecutive patients with gastric cancer underwent gastrectomy in Mansoura Gastroenterology Center. ELISA was used for the estimation of serum Bcl-2 levels in patients with different stages of gastric cancer. Immunohistochemical localization of Bcl-2 antigen was performed on formalinfixed, paraffin-embedded tissue block; Bcl-2 expression was detected from mild to moderate apoptotic index (AI). Results: Positive serum Bcl-2 expression was found in 13/45 patients (28.9%). Bcl-2 protein was immunohistochemically localized in the cytoplasm of 45% (18/40) of gastric cancer patients. Total apoptosis positivity in Bcl2 detected immunohistochemicaly was detected in 45% (18/ 40) of cases; while total apoptosis positivity in serum expression of Bcl-2 was detected in 28.9% (13/ 45). Conclusion: our current study demonstrated that the formation and growth of cancer is a complex process that requires further research in correlation with the results assessed between serum and immunohistochemical expression of Bcl-2 and with its role in the process of apoptosis.