p53 protein immunoexpression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adjacent epithelium

✍ Scribed by Chaves, Paula; Pereira, António Dias; Pinto, António; Oliveira, António Gouveia; Queimado, Lurdes; Glória, Luisa; Cardoso, Paula; Mira, Francisco Costa; Soares, Jorge

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 427 KB
• Volume: 65
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-4790
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9098(199705)65:1<3::aid-jso2>3.0.co;2-c

✦ Synopsis

Background: Immunoreactivity for p53 tumor supressor gene product is commonly found in human malignancies and some premalignant lesions, but its role in cancer development and its value as a marker of tumor biologic behavior is still unclear. Objectives: This study was undertaken to assess p53 immunoexpression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and attempts to determine its correlation with morphological features associated with tumor behavior. Methods: Immunohistochemical study was performed on archival paraffin-embedded tissue of 37 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas and respective adjacent mucosa.

Results: Twenty-one tumors (56.8%) demonstrated specific staining for p53. Sixteen areas of dysplasia were present in 14 out of the 35 cases. p53 positivity was found in one low-grade dysplasia and in six high-grade dysplasias. By univariate analysis, p53 immunoexpression correlated positively with local invasion (P ‫ס‬ 0.01) and perineural spread (P ‫ס‬ 0.04). Multivariate analysis with logistic regression showed that tumor invasion was the only factor that discriminated between p53 positive and p53 negative cases (OR:15.6, P < 0.02). No relationship was found between p53 expression and tumor grade, DNA nuclear ploidy, and S-phase fraction. Conclusions: These data suggest that p53 dysfunction may be implicated in early, preinvasive, stages of esophageal cancer as well as in the tumor progression related to a more invasive phenotype.