Prognostic impact of bcl-2 expression on advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Background Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic impact of bcl‐2 expression on patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods One hundred five patients with advanced NPC treated with high‐dose radiotherapy were included. The relationship between bcl‐2 expression, TNM stage, and disease‐specific survival was analyzed. Results Within the same stage III and IV, patients with negative bcl‐2 expression had better disease‐free survival. The disease‐free survival of patients with stage IV NPC with negative bcl‐2 expression was paradoxically better than that of patients with stage III NPC with positive bcl‐2 expression. In the advanced NPC, the disease‐free survival of patients with stage III cancer was better than that of patients with stage IV cancer (p = .06); in contrast, patients with bcl‐2‐positive tumors had a worse disease‐free 5‐year survival (p = .02). The Cox regression model revealed that only bcl‐2 expression was statistically significant (p = .03). Conclusion In advanced staged NPC, bcl‐2 expression represented an important prognostic factor. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2008