Expression of bcl-2 correlates with poor prognosis and modulates migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Background: The role of bcl-2 expression, bcl-2 inhibitor HA14-1, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 is still unclear in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: From 1996 to 2000, 145 patients with newly diagnosed NPC who were treated with high dose radiotherapy were enrolled. The relationship between bcl-2 expression, TNM stage, and disease-specific survival was analyzed. Furthermore, the NPC cell line HONE-1 was used to confirm the relationship between bcl-2 and cell metastasis. Results: Among the 145 patients, 47 (32.4%) of them were bcl-2 positive. The expression of bcl-2 was significantly correlated with neck lymph node metastasis (p = 0.006), and patients with negative bcl-2 expression had better disease-free survival (p = 0.007). A Cox regression model revealed that only bcl-2 expression (p = 0.023) and stage IV (p = 0.043) were statistically significant in the prognosis of NPC. In vitro analysis also showed that treatment with the bcl-2 inhibitor HA14-1 exerted an inhibitory effect on migration and expression of MMP-2 in HONE-1 cells. Conclusions: Bcl-2 expression represents an important and easily assayed prognostic factor, and it may play an important role in lymph node metastasis. Inhibition of the migration mediated by MMP-2 may be a key feature for the prevention of cancer metastasis.