expression of survivin in the formalinfixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of human osteosarcoma may be used as a diagnostic marker

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent malignant bone tumor with a peak incidence in the second and third decades of life. diagnosis of patients with osteosarcoma is limited to clinico-pathological parameters whereas molecular markers of tumor initiation and promotion have not yet been identified. we aimed to study the expression of the anti-apoptotic survivin gene in osteosarcoma specimens. a total of 35 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (ffpe) specimens including 25 tumoral and 20 non-tumoral paired-margins were collected. the expression of survivin was evaluated by employing real-time pcr and immunohistochemistry. our data showed that survivin is differently expressed in osteosarcoma samples rather than non-tumoral margins. real-time pcr showed that survivin is up-regulated in osteosarcoma specimens compared to margins (p<0.01). furthermore, ihc confirmed that the survivin protein is significantly found in malignant parts of paraffin blocks. our data show that survivin expression is modulated in osteosarcoma and may be considered as a diagnostic marker for further studies.