BCL-2, in combination with MVP and IGF-1R expression, improves prediction of clinical outcome in complete response cervical carcinoma patients treated by radiochemotherapy.

Abstract Objectives To investigate whether BCL-2 expression would improve MVP/IGF-1R prediction of clinical outcome in cervix carcinoma patients treated by radiochemotherapy, and suggest possible mechanisms behind this effect. Methods Fifty consecutive patients, who achieved complete response to treatment, from a whole series of 60 cases suffering from non-metastatic localized cervical carcinoma, were prospectively included in this study from July 1999 to December 2003. Follow-up was closed in January 2011. All patients received pelvic radiation (45–64.80Gy in 1.8–2Gy fractions) with concomitant cisplatin at 40mg/m2/week doses followed by brachytherapy. Oncoprotein expression was studied by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded tumour tissue. Results No relation was found between BCL-2 and clinicopathological variables. High MVP/IGF-1R/BCL-2 tumour expression was strongly related to poor local and regional disease-free survival (P Conclusions BCL-2, MVP, and IGF-1R overexpression were related to poorer clinical outcome in cervical cancer patients who achieved clinical complete response to radiochemotherapy. The NHEJ repair protein Ku70/80 expression could be involved in the regulation of these oncoproteins.