Original Article | Immunohistochemical Expression of BCL2 (B cell lymphoma 2) in Invasive Breast Carcinoma and its
Prajakta A Shinde1, Siddhi Gaurish Sinai Khandeparkar1, Bageshri P Gogate1
1Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital.
Introduction:
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and foremost cause of death in women.
Aim:
This study was conducted to study the BCL2 expression in BC and its correlation with other clinicopathological parameters such as histological grade, tumor size, lymph node status, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu), Ki67 status and molecular subtypes in Indian setting.
Materials And Methods:
Fifty cases of BC diagnosed between 2015 and 2020 were included in the study. A technique of manual tissue microarray was employed for the analysis of expression of IHC markers such as BCL2, ER, PR, Her2/neu, Ki67, CK5/6 and EGFR in all cases. Results were subjected to statistical analysis.
Results:
BCL2 positivity was seen in 36% cases of BC of which 22.22% were HER2 enriched, 33.33% were hormone receptor positive, 38.89% were triple negative (TNBC) non-classifiable, and 5.56% were of basal like BC (BLBC) molecular subtype. Maximum cases of BC showing loss of BCL2 expression showed a statistically insignificant association with higher tumor grade and stage, lymph node positivity, presence of lymphovascular invasion, absence of ER/PR and HER2/neu expression, and Ki67 positivity. 34% cases were of hormone receptor positive BC cases. BCL2 was found positive in 35.29% of hormone receptor positive BC cases. 44% cases were TNBC. BCL2 was found positive in 36.36% of TNBC cases. 20% cases were BLBC. BCL2 was found positive in 10% of BLBC cases. Maximum cases of hormone receptor positive BC, TNBC and BLBC showing loss of BCL2 expression showed a statistically insignificant association with higher grade and stage, lymph node positivity, lymphovascular invasion, and Ki67 expression.
Conclusion:
BCL2 can serve as a useful prognostic marker and merits inclusion in the routine IHC panel for breast cancer, as it may contribute to the development of individualized, tailored therapeutic strategies.
