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Bcl-2 expression is a poor predictor for hepatocellular carcinoma prognosis of andropause-age patients
oleh: Xiao-Fei Zhang, Xin Yang, Hu-Liang Jia, Wen-Wei Zhu, Lu Lu, Wei Shi, Hao Zhang, Jin-Hong Chen, Yi-Feng Tao, Zheng-Xin Wang, Jun Yang, Lian-Xin Wang, Ming Lu, Yan Zheng, Jing Zhao, Qiong-Zhu Dong, Lun-Xiu Qin
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | China Anti-Cancer Association 2016-12-01 |
Deskripsi
<b>Objective</title>: <p>The expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) seems to be influenced by the endocrine environment. Numerous reports demonstrate the diverse expression of Bcl-2 family members under sex steroid regulation. With the exception of estrogen-related tumors, androgen-related tumors have shown their characteristics in Bcl-2 expression. In this study, the status of Bcl-2 expression in male hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients was examined to verify the high incidence of HCC in males.<b>Methods</title>: <p>Tumor tissue microarray was used to examine Bcl-2 expression levels in 374 HCC cases including 306 males and 68 females. Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards model were applied to investigate the predictive value of Bcl-2 in HCC patients.<b>Results</title>: <p>Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that male patients with higher Bcl-2 levels had significantly longer median survival time and recurrence time than those with lower levels. However, no significant differences in outcomes were found between different Bcl-2 levels in female patients. When the male patients were stratified into several age points, the level of Bcl-2 expression showed poorer predictive efficiency in the 45–49 and 55–60 age groups in andropause-age patients compared with other age groups. Bcl-2 was an independent prognostic factor for both overall survival (<i>P</i> < 0.0001) and recurrence time (<i>P</i> = 0.0001) in male patients. After excluding male patients in the 45–60 age group, the predictive efficiency was enhanced (<i>n</i> = 147, OS, <i>P</i> = 0.0002, TTR, <i>P</i> < 0.0001).<b>Conclusions</title>: <p>Bcl-2 expression is an independent predictor of survival and recurrence in male HCC. Bcl-2 levels may also be regulated by androgens or androgen receptors in male HCC patients. Bcl-2 levels change and exhibit poor predictive efficiency when androgen levels vary dramatically (andropause age).