Prognostic significance of serum p53 antibodies in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

Background: The prognostic significance of serum p53-Abs positivity for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unknown. Patients and methods: To determine the prognostic value of serum p53-Abs status, we determined serum p53-Abs and immunohistochemistry in 140 patients with stage I-IIIA NSCLC. Results: p53-Abs were detected in 12.1% of all patients and in 17.6% of those with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Neither p53-Abs nor p53 overexpression alone was correlated with survival for all patients. When these factors were combined for SCC, seronegative patients with tumors overexpressing p53 survived significantly longer than did those with p53-Abs or p53-nonexpressing tumors. In multivariate analysis, p53-Abs status and p53 overexpression were independent prognostic factors for SCC (p = 0.0337). Conclusions: These findings suggest that the combination of p53Abs seropositivity and p53 overexpression may be a prognostic factor for SCC.