Immunohistochemical detection of Bcl-2 protein in small cell carcinomas

The expression of Bcl-2 protein in 29 small cell carcinomas (SCCs; 6 surgical and 15 biopsy specimens obtained from various organs, 7 metastatic lymph nodes, and 1 metastatic liver tissue) was investigated by immunohistochemical technique. Negative staining was observed in only two cases (7%). The majority of Bcl-2-positive tumors had > 95% positive cells, with a moderate staining intensity. A combined small-cell lung cancer showed discordant staining results between two different histology types. No correlations of Bcl-2 immunoreactivity with p53 expression and clinical staging were found. Our findings suggest that Bcl-2 expression may play a certain role in the early phases of SCC tumorigenesis, or that it may solely be a succeeding property directly derived from the tumor progenitor cells. As the Bcl-2 protein was present in most cases, it is not a useful prognostic or treatment marker for the cancer.