title: Expression of the p53 family in lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  p53 is mutated in about 50% of various malignant diseases including lung cancer. The p53 family consists of p53, p73 and p63. Although transactivating protein isoforms display p53-like functions, the deltaNp73 or deltaNp63 isoforms act toward p53 in a dominantly negative way. The aim of this study was to detect p53, deltaNp73 and deltaNp63 expressions in lung cancer and to evaluate the relationship between the expression levels of the proteins and the prognosis of patients with resectable lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was employed to analyze the protein expression of p53, deltaNp73 and deltaNp63 in paraffin-embedded tumor samples from 132 well-characterized lung cancer patients. The correlation among the expression levels of p53, deltaNp73 and deltaNp63, clinical variables and survival outcome was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Positive expressions of p53, deltaNp73 and deltaNp63 were detected in the tumor cells in 52, 77 and 44 of the 132 patients, respectively (39.4%, 58.3% and 33.3%) with lung cancer. The incidence of p53 positive expression was 54.5% and 27.6% in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, respectively (p = 0.03). The incidence of a positive expression of deltaNp73 was 64.5% and 43.6% in male and female patients, respectively (p = 0.03). The incidence of deltaNp63 positive expression was 68.2% and 15.8% in the patients with squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, respectively (p < 0.0001). The expressions of p53 and deltaNp63 were not found to significantly affect survival. However, lung cancer patients with a positive deltaNp73 expression had a poorer prognosis than those with a negative deltaNp73 expression. In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that a positive expression of deltaNp73 was a significantly independent factor for predicting a poor prognosis (p < 0.0001, risk ratio = 3.38).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinical evidence that the p53 family is frequently overexpressed in lung cancer specimens, especially deltaNp63 in squamous cell carcinoma, was provided. The expression of deltaNp73 may be a useful marker for predicting a poor prognosis in resectable lung cancer. Understanding how groups of lung cancer cell genes are coordinately expressed in response to physiological, immunological and micro-environmental stimuli remains an important goal. A better understanding of the gene expression profiles of tumors may help to identify molecular targets, such as deltaNp73, for effective therapy.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan. hidetaka@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hidetaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uramoto
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugio
authors.forename: Tsunehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Tadahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nozoe
authors.forename: Kosei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasumoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011379:Prognosis; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C495901:TP53 protein, human; C115051:TP63 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins