Expression and prognostic relevance of Mcl-1 in breast cancer

Background: Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic protein, is frequently associated with favourable prognosis in breast cancer. The potential role of mcl-1, another bcl-2 family member, in breast cancer has not yet been defined. Patients and Methods: This study examined the expression of mcl-1 and bcl-2 in 170 cases of invasive primary breast carcinoma, using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analyses. Results: Expression of bcl-2 mRNA and protein were found to be favourably associated with outcome for patients, supporting a prognostic role for bcl-2 in breast cancer, whereas mcl-1 expression, at the mRNA or protein level did not correlate with tumour size, grade, lymph node or ER status, age of patient at diagnosis, or disease outcome. Conclusion: As these analyses of mcl-1 expression may have co-detected mcl-1_S/ΔTM (a more recently identified, shorter variant, that may be pro-apoptotic) with the anti-apoptotic wild-type of mcl-1, it is possible that future studies may indicate some significant clinical correlations if the isoforms can be independently investigated.