BACKGROUND: Oral pathologies are divided by histochemical analysis. Molecular analysis is a future, and expensive, method, and in it, the role of gene BCL-2 may be of interest. MATERIAL/METHODS: Forty-five patients with tumors of the oral cavity were enrolled. Biopsies were taken from the incision line, tumor section, and healthy tissue. A three-stage molecular analysis was carried out. BCL-2 expression was investigated depending on the site of the tissue material sample and the final histopathological result: hyperplasia (group I), neoplasm in situ malignancy (group II), and carcinoma (group III). Data from four subgroups of group I were also analyzed. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was demonstrated in BCL-2 expression among the four hyperplasia subgroups. However, statistically significant differences in BCL-2 expression were found among the three basic study groups (p=0.00002) and among the biopsy collection sites (p=0.002). The difference was the most pronounced between carcinoma and incision line, but was also noticeable between neoplasm in situ malignancies and incision line. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring BCL-2 expression may facilitate prognosis of the progress and ultimate severity of oral cavity hyperplasias.

Keywords: Mouth Neoplasms - genetics, RNA, Messenger - metabolism, bcl-2-Associated X Protein - metabolism