The relationship between expression of p53/Bcl-2 and histopathological criteria in breast invasive ductal carcinomas

Seventy-five cases of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) on whom axillary lymp h node dissection and mastectomy were performed between 1996 and 2000 were reviewed histopathologically. The slides were stained immunohistologically with p53 and Bcl-2. In 40 cases we observed 53% Bcl-2 and 69% p53 positivit y There were correlations between p53 and tumour grade, and also between p5 3 and Bcl-2. We did not observe any connection between the main histopathol ogical prognostic factors - lymph node metastasis, tumour size, tubule form ation, pleomorphism - and p53/Bcl-2. In our study, IDC with a high mitotic index and poor differentiation showed mutant p53 positive staining. Express ion of Bcl-2 is associated with low nuclear grade and absence of mutant p53 . This study was designed to reveal the correlation between histopathologic al findings and the expression of p53/Bcl-2 on prognosis.