The Use of an Immunocytochemical Double-Labeling Staining Can Display the Distribution of Bcl-2/Ki-67 Cells in Endometrial Adenocarcinomas as well as in Normal Endometrium
Mourtzikou, A.; Kosmas, K.; Marouga, A.; Stamouli, M.; Pouliakis, A.; Karakitsos, P.
Clinical Laboratory 58(1-2): 133-144
2012
ISSN/ISBN: 1433-6510 PMID: 22372356 Document Number: 15647
Backgound: Endometrial adenocarcinoma is the most common gynecologic malignancy and is the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. The objective of the present study was to determine the expression of a proliferation marker, Ki-67 and an apoptosis inhibitor, Bcl-2, by double-label staining in endometrial adenocarcinomas and in normal endometrium samples, to evaluate the differences in the immunocytochemical expression of Ki-67 and Bcl-2, and finally to correlate the results with tumor grade and stage. Methods: This study was carried on 270 endometrial samples, collected during a 27 month period, freshly resected from women who underwent total abdominal hysterectomy. Results: Ki-67 and Bcl-2 expressions were studied by immunocytochemistry. Bcl-2 expression was strong and homogeneous in normal (proliferative, secretory and atrophic) endometrium and more frequent in low-grade endometrioid carcinomas. Completely negative staining of Bcl-2 was found to be strictly related to high-grade endometrioid carcinomas. Ki-67 expression was higher in patients with high-grade endometrioid carcinomas. Prolifer-ative endometrium showed inconclusive Ki-67 expression levels and in the secretory endometrium Ki-67 positive cells were remarkably diminished and even disappeared. Completely negative staining of Ki-67 was found to be strictly related to atrophic endometrium. Conclusions: Immunocytochemical double-label staining can be used to display the distribution of Bcl-2 and Ki-67 cells in endometrioid carcinomas as well as normal endometrium, and, in addition to cytomorphologic features, contributes to its accurate diagnosis.
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