Prognostic significance of p53 and ras p21 protein expression in surgically treated non-small cell lung carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
The prognosis of surgically treated non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) varies even after careful selection of the patients; the conventional grading and staging system is often deficient in determining which cases will profit best from surgery. Additional techniques are needed to permit better prognostic evaluation.


METHODS
In this research, 2 markers of cellular proliferation, p53 and ras (p21) proteins were examined. The material used was from the same series reported previously which were immunostained with different cytokeratin markers for the same purpose. Immunohistochemical stainings of p53 and p21 were performed on the paraffin sections of 88 NSCLC specimens: 45 squamous cell, 22 adeno- and 21 large or undifferentiated carcinomas.


RESULTS
At stage I, positive or negative stains of p53 and p21 provided no prognostic information since they had similar 5 year survival rates of approximatively 50% which is similar to the mean predicted survival rate for stage I. In this group as well, there was no significant difference in immunostaining, either in relation to the histological type or grade of the tumors. At stage III-IV, we found a trend, which, however, was not statistically significant, between positive immunostains of p53 and p21 proteins and longer survival.


CONCLUSIONS
These results vary from our previous study on the expression of the differentiation marker cytokeratin 18, which showed that positive staining of tumor cells was associated with a statistically significant poorer prognosis at stage I regardless of histological types.
Cohen
R
R
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Sapir Medical Center, Meir General Hospital, Kfar Sava, Israel.
Guber
A
A
Koren
R
R
Marom
Z
Z
Siegal
A
A
D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D007633:Keratins; C501009:HRAS protein, human; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)