title: Prognostic value of p53 and Ki67 expression in fiberoptic bronchial biopsies of patients with non small cell lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Overexpression of the tumor suppressor gene p53 and the marker for cellular proliferation Ki67 in open lung biopsies are indicated as predictor factors of survival of patients with lung cancer. However, the prognostic value of p53 and Ki67 in fiberoptic bronchial biopsies (FBB) has not been fully investigated. We evaluated p53 and Ki67 immunostaining in FBB from 19 with Non Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC: 12 adenocarcinomas, 5 squamous cell carcinomas and 2 NSCLC-NOS).
  
  
  METHODS
  FBB specimens were fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin, and immunostained using anti-p53 and anti-Ki67 antibodies. Slides were reviewed by two independent observers and classified as positive (+ve) when the number of cells with stained nuclei exceeded 15% for p53 or when >25% positive cells were observed throughout each section for Ki67.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Positive (+ve) immunostaining was found in 9 patients for p53 (47.37%) and 8 patients for Ki67 (42.10%). We examined overall survival curves of the patients with Mantel's logrank test, both p53 -ve and Ki67 -ve patients had significantly higher survival rates than p53 + ve (p < 0.005) and Ki67 + ve (p < 0,0001), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that negative immunostaining of fiberoptic bronchial biopsies for p53 and Ki67 could represent a better prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Pneumology Unit, University of Catania, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, Catania, Italy. ciancio@policlinico.unict.it.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ciancio
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Galasso
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campisi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bivona
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Migliore
authors.forename: Giuseppe U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Di Maria