Expression of survivin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its association with p53 and Bcl-2

Objective:To investigate the expression of survivin and its relationship with expression of p53 and Bcl-2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESC).Methods: Immunohistochemical SP method was used to detect the expression of survivin,p53 and Bcl-2 proteins in 50 ESC tissues and 20 para-cancerous tissues.Results: Survivin protein was expressed in 40 of 50 ESC cases(80%),and its expression was associated with lymph node metastasis and infiltration degree of esophageal carcinoma(P0.05),with no relation to the different histological grade(P0.05) and lower expression level in para-cancerous(5.0%,P0.01).The expression of p53,Bcl-2 was strongly correlated with the survivin expression(P0.05).Conclusion: Aberrant expression of survivin may be a new target for gene treatment of esophageal carcinoma;survivin,up-regulation of apoptosis related gene Bcl-2 and deactivation of antioncogene p53 may play a synergetic role in the carcinogenesis of esophageal carcinoma.