Abstract: To investigate the relationship between the apoptosis-suppressing gene bcl-2 and apoptosis gene Fas and the occurrence and development of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) in human skin, we performed the immunohistochemical staining for bcl-2 and Fas expression in 13 cases of BCC and 11 cases of SCC. Among the SCCs, according to Broders' classification, 6 cases were grade Ⅰ, 3 grade Ⅱ, and 2 grade Ⅲ. The results showed that all 13 BCC cases expressed strong cytoplasmic bcl-2 positive staining throughout the BCC tissues, but no Fas positive staining in the BCC tumor cells. All 11 SCC tumor tissues expressed positive Fas in the cell membranes, and the intensity of Fas expression was positively correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation, but did not express bcl-2. Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that the bcl-2 expression is consistently positive in BCCs, but not in SCCs, while the Fas expression is consistently positive in SCCs, but not in BCCs. The difference of bcl-2 and Fas expression may reflect the different pathogenesis of BCC and SCC.

Key words: bcl-2, Fas, Carcinomam,basal cell, Carcinoma,squamous cell