Study of Proliferation and Apoptosis in Neuroblastoma. Their Relation with Other Prognostic Factors

Abstract Background Our objective was to study the proliferation and apoptotic process in 111 cases of neuroblastoma (NB) and to seek their relationship with other prognostic factors and survival. Methods Immunohistochemistry following ABC peroxidase was carried out for PCNA, Ki-67, bcl-2, and p53 proteins. Apoptosis analysis was performed with in situ detection of chromosomal breakdown. Molecular detection of DNA ladders by electrophoresis and amplification of MYCN was studied with PCR and Southern blot. Statistical study was performed with Pearson χ 2 and Kruskal-Wallis tests and Cox regression. Results Our results indicate that proliferative factors PCNA and Ki-67 were correlated to each…