Role of immunohistochemistry and apoptosis as investigative tools in assessing the prognosis of patients with prostate tumours.

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death necessary for the regulation of the size of organs in adult life. Disruption of apoptotic pathways has been suggested as an important regulatory mechanism in prostatic tumours. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of apoptosis-regulating genes bcl-2 and p53 using immunohistochemistry, and the Gleason score in core needle biopsy specimens of prostate adenocarcinoma. We studied bcl-2 and p53 expression in 30 cases of low-, 30 cases of intermediate- and 20 cases of high-grade prostate adenocarcinoma. Overexpression of bcl-2 and p53 were noted in 54 and 61 of 80 patients (67.5 and 76.25%), respectively. The statistical analysis of the present data suggested that there is significant relation between p53 and bcl-2 expression, and Gleason score in prostate cancer. Thus, immunohistochemistry is a useful investigative parameter in assessing apoptosis to analyse the prognosis of prostatic tumours.