Bcl-2 expression in a papillary tumor of the pineal region.

Neuroepithelial papillary tumor of the pineal region (PTPR) has been described by several groups and recognized by the 2007 World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System. The proto-oncogen Blc-2 can function as an apoptosis suppressor and can promote neoplastic transformation. It may also be involved in neuroendocrine differentiation in some tumors. As PTPRs express neuroendocrine markers, we investigated the expression of Bcl-2 in tumoral cells of a new case of PTPR in a 42-year-old woman. Bcl-2 immunostaining was detected in the cytoplasm of the tumoral cells; staining intensity was heterogeneous from cell to cell and more intense in papillary areas. This intense expression of Bcl-2 in one case of PTPR with a high proliferation index (8%) might be related to the malignancy of this neoplasm. It will be interesting to investigate the prognosis impact of Bcl-2 expression in a large series of PTPRs.