EXPRESSION OF p16 AND p53 IN GASTRIC CARCINOMA

Objective:To investigate the clinical significance of p53 and p16 expression in gastric carcinoma with special reference to the prognosis.Methods:One hundred and fifty-two patients with gastric carcinoma undergoing operation in our hospital between 1991 and 1998 were evaluated for expression of p53 and p16 in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor tissue utilizing Avidin-Biotin immunohistochemistry techniques. Statistical correlations with stage, histological type, differentiation degree, location, size, and overall survival were done. The Cox proportional hazard model was also performed to evaluate which factors had an independent prognostic value.Results:In 152 cases of resected gastric cancer, 110 (72.4%) were p16 positive and 49 (32.2%) showed p53 overexpression. Differences were observed in the frequency of p16 positivity with respect to age, gender and tumor size. The frequency of p53 positivity cells in well-differentiated tumors was significantly higher than that in poorly differentiated tumors (41.9% vs. 25.6%; P = 0.034). In a multivariate analysis, tumor TNM stage, perioperation chemotherapy and the expression of p16 were independent prognostic factors in gastric cancer.Conclusions:The results of the current study suggest that expression of p16 may be a useful prognostic factor for patients with gastric carcinoma, but the expression of p53 as detected by immunohistochemistry were of no value in predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma independently.