Abstract
The overexpression of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic oncogene, identifies human T1 breast cancer patients who have an increased risk of lymph-node metastasis. We examined in these patients (n=142) whether the c-Myc oncogene influences metastatic progression in conjunction or not with Bcl-2 expression and the loss of apoptosis in tumors. The association between Bcl-2 and lymph-node metastasis was only significant when c-Myc was concomitantly expressed (χ2 test, p=0.008). Moreover, very large associations (pOR=6.4) between c-Myc and lymph-node metastasis were observed among Bcl-2 positive tumors and tumors with loss of apoptosis (pOR=8.4). In contrast, the metastatic advantage linked to Bcl-2 was decreased (pOR=2) when c-Myc was not coexpressed. It is concluded that the synergism between Bcl-2 and c-Myc oncogenes may promote metastasis in breast tumors, linked to loss of apoptosis.
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Sierra, A., Castellsague, X., Escobedo, A. et al. Synergistic cooperation between c-Myc and Bcl-2 in lymph node progression of T1 human breast carcinomas. Breast Cancer Res Treat 54, 39–45 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006120006471
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006120006471