Expression of Fas ligand and bcl-2 in cervical carcinoma and their prognostic significance.

Apoptosis-related factors are known to influence survival with many malignant tumors. We performed immunohistochemical analysis of Fas ligand (FasL) and bcl-2 in invasive cervical cancer to determine the association with prognosis. In 125 patients with cervical cancer, 93 cases (74.4%) were positive for FasL, and 94 cases (75.2%) were positive for bcl-2. When 101 cases, clinical stages I through IV, were analyzed by univariate analysis, negative bcl-2 (P = .035) and combined positive FasL and negative bcl-2 (PFNB; P = .0025) were associated with significantly decreased disease-free survival. Positive FasL (P = .042), negative bcl-2 (P = .0004), and PFNB (P < .0001) were associated with a significantly worse prognosis in overall survival. In clinical stages II through IV, positive FasL (P = .04), negative bcl-2 (P = .002), and PFNB (P < .0001) had significant associations with shorter disease-free survival and positive FasL (P = .049), negative bcl-2 (P < .0001), and PFNB (P < .0001) with worse overall survival.