Prognostic Significance Evaluation of BCL2 and Ki-67 Expression in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients

Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common lymphatic neoplasm, accounting for about 30–40% of non-Hodgkin s lymphoma cases. DLBCL is a progressive disease with clinical, genetic and molecular heterogeneity. The prognostic value of BCL2 and Ki-67 in DLBCL patients has been controversial.Method: In this study, we investigated the correlation of BCL2 and Ki-67 expression with clinical features such as age, sex, B symptoms and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, subtypes of DLBCL, staging and prognosis in 36 cases of DLBCL. The expression of BCL2 and Ki-67 was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results: There was no significant correlation between BCL2 expression and staging (p = 0.082), but Ki-67 expression had a significant correlation with staging (p = 0.002). There was no statistically significant correlation between BCL2 and Ki-67 with prognosis of the disease. Our statistical analysis showed a correlation between the germinal center B-cell (GCB) and non- GCB subtypes with BCL2 expression (p = 0.024), so that patients with non- GCB subtype had a higher BCL2 expression. Our study also demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between BCL2 and Ki-67 expression, so that with the increase of the expression of a marker, another increases (p =0.045).Conclusion: BCL2 and Ki-67 expressions were not associated with prognosis. Overexpression of Ki-67 was associated with higher clinical stages. BCL2 expression is higher in non-GCB subtype of DLBCL. Therefore, our study clearly shows that the subsequent studies of BCL2 and other biomarkers in the DLBCL should be based on the DLBCL subtypes

Keywords:

Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) , Bcl2 , Ki-67 , immunohistochemistry