PREDICTIVE VALUE OF BCL-2 AND BAX PROTEIN EXPRESSION FOR CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC EFFECT IN GASTRIC-CANCER - A PILOT-STUDY

We investigated tissue staining for Bcl-2 and Bar proteins, which regu late apoptosis, as indicators of chemotherapeutic effect in patients w ith gastric cancer. In 23 patients with gastric carcinoma biopsy speci mens were obtained endoscopically prior to chemotherapy and stained im munohistochemically with anti-Bcl-2 and anti-Bar antibodies. Patients then were treated with continuous infusion of 5-FU and cisplatin, No c orrelation was seen between chemotherapeutic effect and Bcl-2 or Bar a lone, However, among the Bar-positive cases, the patients with Bcl-2-p ositive tumors were significantly more chemoresistant (p = 0.036) and had worse prognoses (p = 0.008) than Bcl-2-negative cases. Therefore, immunohistochemical staining for Bcl-2 protein may predict chemotherap eutic efficacy or guide specific therapeutic choices in treating Bar-p ositive tumors.