Kaplan-Meier curves for time to first treatment and overall survival defined by median expression of Bcl-2 family proteins. Curves are for stage A patient cohort only; n = 129. Bcl-2 (A), Bax (C), and Bcl-2/Bax ratios (G) were not prognostic for time to first treatment. In contrast, Mcl-1 (E) and Mcl-1/Bax ratios (I) were able to define distinct patient subsets at risk of requiring treatment. In terms of overall survival, only Mcl-1/Bax ratios were prognostic (J); all of the other Bcl-2 family parameters tested were not significant (B,D,F,H).