P53 auto-antibodies in the sera of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Aim: To investigate the sera of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) for the existence of p53 autoantibodies. Material and methods: The sera of thirty-nine OSCC-patients were investigated. All samples were from untreated patients with no history of another neoplastic disease. The sera of nine healthy subjects served as controls. Results: P53 auto-antibodies were not detected both in all healthy subjects and in 20.6% OSCC-patients with their disease at an advanced stage. We prove that the extinction rates for p53 auto-antibodies in OSCC are very weak in the majority of investigated sera (50%) and are not related to tumour stage. Conclusion: It is unlikely that p53 auto-antibodies can serve as a prognostic marker of OSCC.