OVEREXPRESSION OF CYCLIN-D1, BCL-2, AND BAX PROTEINS, PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN (PCNA), AND DNA-PLOIDY IN SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE ORAL CAVITY

The prognostic role of the expression of bcl-1, bcl-2, bar, PCNA, and DNA-ploidy in a series of 25 oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was in vestigated. The average age of the patients was 62.04 years (range, 27 to 81 years), with a sex ratio (M/F) of 23:2. The follow-up mean time war 2.24 years (range, 8 months to 8 years from surgery). Immunohisto chemistry for PCNA, bcl-2, bcl-1, and bar proteins was carried out on 5-mu m serial sections from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. The findings were compared with clinicopathologic data and with follow -up. The statistical evaluation of the results of the current study su ggests that the low positivity for PCNA with a high positivity for bcl -2 protein are related to a better clinical behavior of the tumors. By converse, a high expression of PCNA, bar, and bcl-1 appears to correl ate with a worse prognosis. All of our cases of SCC showed the presenc e of aneuploid populations, which was not correlated with the clinicop athologic parameters or with the overexpression of bcl-1, bcl-2, bar, and PCNA Therefore, the aneuploidy per se did not predict the clinical evolution for the single cases of cancers. Nevertheless, once the par ameters considered for the evaluation of DNA were examined in detail, it appeared that some of them, individually or combined with each othe r or with the expression of bcl-1, bcl-2, and bar, gained statistical significance in predicting the clinical evolution of SCC of our series . Particularly, high values of 2cDI and DNA-MG and the absence or redu ction of the euploid population were associated with a short interval between surgery and recurrence or death, and this significance persist ed when the simultaneous presence of overexpression of bcl-1 was consi dered. Copyright (C) 1998 W.B. Saunders Company.