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High expression of bcl-2 is the rule in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, except in Burkitt subtype at presentation, and is not correlated with the prognosis

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Summary

Bcl-2 expression and its prognostic value were evaluated using the APAAP technique in 40 ALL patients. Because of a possible synergy between c-myc and bcl-2 proteins in cell lines, we compared 40 ALL of either T or B lineage with seven Burkitt's ALL or sporadic Burkitt's lymphomas (BL). We found the same high expression of bcl-2 in adult (Ad) and childhood (Ch) malignancies examined at presentation, regardless of the T or B phenotype. No bcl-2 expression was detectable in BL cases, except for two investigated at relapse. Bcl-2 staining intensity was also not related to the stage of blast differentiation, except in Ad T-ALL, or to the relapse rate. Ki-67, a marker of proliferation, was used to investigate the possible correlation between bcl-2 expression and the proliferative activity. An inverse correlation was found only in BL at presentation. We confirm that bcl-2 expression is the rule in ALL, regardless of the immunophenotypic characteristics at presentation, and that high expression is not correlated with a bad prognosis. Sporadic BL may represent a particular type of tumor, with bcl-2 expression in relapse, but not at presentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Avenue Hippocrate 10, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium

    J. L. Gala, A. Ferrant, J. L. Michaux & P. Martiat

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Avenue Hippocrate 10, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium

    C. Vermylen & G. Cornu

  3. Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Biology, Catholic University of Louvain, Ecole de santé Publique, Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 30, BP 30.46, Louvain, Belgium

    M. Philippe

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  1. J. L. Gala
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Gala, J.L., Vermylen, C., Cornu, G. et al. High expression of bcl-2 is the rule in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, except in Burkitt subtype at presentation, and is not correlated with the prognosis. Ann Hematol 69, 17–24 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01757343

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01757343

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